Storm of Shadows
by pjmb13
Summary: The arrival of the REF cruiser Arcadia heralded a new age for humanity. When the Arcadia left to explore the galaxy, there were great hopes and expectations. Now the forces of darkness have made their move. Faith, Buffy with a few allies find themselves engaged in struggle for survival, but neither side knows is that a greater struggle underway is about to arrive on Earth's shores.
1. Every day is a struggle…

**STORM OF SHADOWS**

This is my 8th fanfiction story. This is a ROBOTECH and Buffy the Vampire Slayer crossover story and is the sequel to **"Shadows of the Apocalypse"**. This story will feature original characters and will be kept as close to canon using my OCs, but my main goal is to provide an entertaining story to the reader.

I just want to say thanks to the creators and writers of both the ROBOTECH and Buffy the Vampire Slayer franchises. They have provided me with hours of enjoyment and entertainment. A special thanks to all those that created many of the ROBOTECH technical reference sites, they were excellent sources of information on the types of mecha and ships. All characters are the intellectual property of their respective creators and publishers; this story may not be sold or distributed on a profit-making basis.

A special thanks and shout out to all that read this story.

 **oOoOo**

 _The arrival of the REF cruiser Arcadia had been heralded as opening a new age for humanity with the knowledge and technological wonders of Robotechnology that they brought. When the Arcadia left to explore the galaxy, there had been great hopes and expectations for the future. When she didn't return, those hopes and expectations turned to ashes as the forces of darkness made their moves, using their human minions to seize power. Faith, Buffy along with the few allies they have left find themselves engaged in a desperate fight for survival, but what neither side knows is that a bigger galactic struggle that is nearing its climax is about to wash upon Earth's shores._

 **oOoOo**

 **CHAPTER ONE:**

 **Every day is a struggle…**

" _…One area where Wolfram & Hart's importance played a crucial role was with their experience and contacts in media, especially in terms of shaping and molding public opinion. These were no crude attacks launched against the Slayers, these were slick, crafted media campaigns that were geared to create doubt and suspicion among the public. They had started their campaign by raising questions about Captain Coleiro's true objectives. The information about General Edwards and the REF Civil War played perfectly into this. After the 'Cleveland Hellmouth Incident' with the public trying to come to grips with what had happened and the President praising the work of the Slayers, an orchestrated media campaign against the Slayers was initiated. Numerous commentators were asking 'hard' questions about the Slayers and what their 'true' purposes and goals were. In terms of how to conduct a media campaign it was brilliantly executed as the Slayers and anyone associated with them were labelled and referred to ranging from 'vigilantes conducting extrajudicial killings' to an 'extremist group'. Even after the attack on the White House with the President, the Secretary of Defense and most of the cabinet dead, the media campaign was a textbook case of how to manipulate the public. The image of a bloody Vice-President Kinsey standing on the steps of the White House, with the fires barely extinguished, being sworn in and appealing to the country for calm and not to rush to judgement about the Slayers was again perfectly executed. This set the stage for the newly sworn-in President Kinsey to implement, with lobbying support provided by Wolfram & Hart, labelling the Slayers as a 'terrorist organization' and making changes to the laws and constitution after the 'Boston Disaster'…_"

— Excerpt from _"The Devil's Counsel – The Story of Wolfram & Hart"_

 **oOoOo**

The setting sun's rays gave one last burst of light to the desert. It was a lonely stretch of desert that was broken by the unending trail of asphalt along with the occasional road sign that was the only indication that humans had ever been through the area.

This secondary highway had long been deserted by most travelers for the interstate and the only people that used it were locals, people who were looking for adventure, had gotten lost or those that didn't want to be seen. Not being seen was the objective of the occupants in the old beat-up windowless van with the heavily tinted windshield that was driving this stretch of road, heading away from the setting sun. The occupants of the van looked human, but they were far from it.

"I'm hungry," the vampire from the passenger seat moaned.

"Damn it! I told you not to finish off that hitchhiker so fast. We still got a long drive to Wichita!" the vampire driving replied angrily.

"I hope they have better security there than they had in Phoenix. What a waste, it was like a frigging All-inclusive resort there," one of the vampires from the back of the van said.

"How many processing facilities does that make?" the vampire in the passenger seat asked.

"They're getting ballsier these days… I heard that they've taken out five processing facilities in the last six months," the driver said angrily.

"All that blood gone…what a waste," moaned a vampire from the back of the van.

"They're getting desperate…they know they can't win," added another vampire.

"When are the damn feds going to get their shit together and take out those bastards?! I mean we got the freakin' FBI on our side and they can't stop a bunch of girls and useless humans!" the passenger complained in a whiny voice.

The vampire driving was getting tired of his passenger and was considering whether to kill him quick or throw him out of the van and see if the waning sunlight would do the job…more slowly. He had to admit that his passenger did have a point. In the last year, processing facilities had been setup around the country to process quickly and quietly humans for consumption by his kind. Right now things were staying below the radar as the humans being taken were those on the edges of society and wouldn't be noticed or cared about if missing. The vampire smiled as most of the humans were either afraid, ignorant or too stupid to admit what was going on until it was too late.

He'd heard rumors that the processing was going to be ramped up to higher levels soon. If it wasn't for the Slayers and the rest of the resistance, this world would be a whole lot better place. He still got a happy feeling knowing that the government had labelled all Slayers as "terrorists" and started hunting them down. His thoughts quickly shifted as a small sign on the side of the road caught his attention.

"Hey boys! I got good news!" the driver said as an evil grin formed on his face.

He saw the looks of confusion on the faces of his passengers.

"We're getting take-out…"

 **oOoOo**

The vampires sat in the van parked at the far end of the dirt parking lot watching the building. It was a small run-down looking road-side bar. The whole thing looked like something you would see in a movie. There were a mix of old pick-up trucks parked at the front of the building and you could hear the country music coming from inside the bar. The vampires waited and watched, while the sun continued its retreat for the day. They felt their hunger grow as they saw people go into the bar.

"Okay…we go in the front door and we taste the local cuisine," the driver said as he saw the sun finally disappear and the darkness had come. He heard the other vampires growl in approval.

"Make sure that you keep a couple of the waitresses alive… We'll save them for the road. We still have a long drive to Wichita," the driver added.

Exiting out of the van, the vampires walked slowly across the parking lot, the ground crunching underneath their feet. The sound of music and people drifted from the building, growing louder as they got closer. Their hunger grew exponentially with each foot step they took closer to the bar. They stopped just in front, pausing as the lead vampire took a quick look around before opening the door.

 _Time to feed_ , he thought, changing his face to its true look and stepping through the door.

The vampires could smell the blood pumping as they entered the bar. At first nobody noticed them as the patrons were busy drinking, talking and listening to the music. It was one of the waitresses that finally noticed them and their faces, her screams alerted everyone else in the bar.

The bar was frozen except for the music that continued to play. One of the vampires went over to the jukebox and smashed his fist through the front panel killing the music, bringing silence to the bar. The lead vampire took a deep breath to inhale the fear that was coming off the humans. He was about to say something when a voice spoke out cutting through the silence.

"Why don't you boys just turn around and leave… I'm not in the mood for this tonight."

The vampires were confused and mystified by the voice, "Who the hell said that?" one of the vampires asked out loud.

Everyone in the bar was surprised as a woman with long brunette hair stood up from her stool at the bar, throwing back her drink to finish it. The humans in the bar, noted her looks and the attitude she gave off, facing off against the four vampires.

"I'm going to give all of you until the count of three to get out of here and drive off," the young woman said with a smirk. Her eyes studied the vampires, noting their positions and their body language. The silence hung over the bar as everyone waited anxiously for what was going to happen next. The woman's smirk grew into a predatory smile.

"Three…" she said.

 **oOoOo**

Faith moved back to the bar after dusting the last vampire. She saw the looks on the peoples' faces, grabbing her helmet she knew it was time to leave. No one made a move, the eerie silence still hanging over the bar as she started walking for the door. The silence was finally broken by the bartender, "Y-You're one of those there S-Slayers…"

Faith stopped, giving the bartender a look and then glanced around the room. She knew what they were thinking. She didn't respond to the bartender's question, but a small smirk formed on her face which caused the bartender's eyes to go even wider.

"T-The President s-says that you're all t-terrorists!" the bartender said in a nervous voice.

Faith snorted at the man's response, reaching into her pants pocket she flipped an object towards the bartender. The startled man managed to react and catch the object him in his hand. Opening his hand slowly he was surprised to see that it was a quarter.

"Call someone who cares…" she said, walking past the stunned patrons and exiting the bar into the night.

 **oOoOo**

Faith sat on the back of her Cyclone taking deep breaths. She had only stopped at this bar for a drink on her drive back from Phoenix. It was just her luck that a van load of vamps would stop in, she shook her head snorting as she thought about her luck.

 _I guess still being alive is a form of good luck_ , she thought wistfully.

Gazing up at the night sky, seeing the stars, she felt as if they were mocking her. She had once looked at them with wonderment, hope and love. Now, she felt only pain and anger as they were just a reminder of what she had lost. She had meet and fallen in love with a man from alternate universe. He'd literally dropped into her life and he had changed everything for her. Being with Paul had instilled in her hopes and dreams for the future. She had found herself wanting a future with him. He had then left on his ship to the far side of the galaxy, promising that he would return. The mission was only supposed to have lasted six months…that was nearly five years ago.

She could painfully recall each day of those six months, how she'd waited for the ship and Paul to return. When they didn't return, there had been speculation as to why they had been delayed, but as the days turned to weeks and the weeks into months, hope began to fade and die. She still could recall with crystal clear detail where she was and what she was doing when they made the announcement that the Arcadia Expedition was declared missing — presumed lost. Nobody wanted to say out loud that they were dead, because there was no evidence, but the implication was clear.

It had been hard for her and the others as they had all lost someone with the expedition. Buffy had taken it as hard as she had...her sister, one of her best friends and her lover had been with the expedition. That was the hardest part of the whole thing...the not knowing what had happened. It was at this lowest point that The First Evil made its move again, this time using the Cleveland Hellmouth. It had been a desperate time, but Buffy and she had managed to turn the tables. It had been Buffy who found the Scythe, back in Sunnydale, and came up with the idea to have Willow channel the power to use the essence of the Scythe to activate all the Potential Slayers around the world.

In the ensuing fight they had stopped the Turok-Hans, but at a cost. Besides losing a number of the newly activated Slayers and civilians caught in the middle, they had lost Spike. He had used a magic amulet, they had gotten from Angel, which was to be used in a final battle. He killed off the Turok-Hans and closed the Hellmouth, but the power of the amulet consumed him in the process. That had been a bitter blow to Buffy on top of losing Dawn, Xander and James with the Arcadia mission. There had been the hope that things would settle down and everyone would have a chance to get back to some semblance of normality...that peace only lasted a few months.

Faith was in Las Vegas, when the live news reports came in. She had watched, stunned and shocked like the rest of the world, as the White House was attacked. When she saw the teenage girl running across the White House lawn, seeing how fast she moved and how she took down the guards, she got a bad feeling about what was happening. Nobody knew who the girl was at the time and it took a couple of years for Giles and Riley to finally piece together what had happened, but it soon became apparent that The First had raised the stakes and countered their victory in Cleveland. They had known about the Vice-President's connection to Wolfram & Hart, but they hadn't known about the law firm's connection with The First.

From there, things took a downward spiral. While politicians, the media and the public were screaming for Slayer blood over this heinous attack, the newly sworn-in President was appealing for calm and let the investigation take its course. That message quickly changed after the 'Boston Disaster'.

She still doesn't know how her dad managed to track her down, to get word to her. She hadn't seen or talked to her mom in years as they had never really been close, but the news that she'd been killed in the explosion still hit her. Nobody can say for certain what really happened that night as any witnesses to the disaster died in the explosion, but from security footage that happened to be "miraculously" recovered showed a teenage girl, who was later "identified" as a Slayer, breaking into the MIT Plasma Science and Fusion testing lab. The lab housed one of the new fusion reactors that was built using knowledge provided by the Arcadia. The ensuing overload and explosion of the reactor devastated a huge portion of Boston, leaving a death toll of over 150,000 people. Things got a lot worse after that…

Faith was still recovering from the news about her mom, when the President with unanimous support from the Congress and Senate declared all Slayers and anyone assisting them a terrorist. Hidden in the bill language were laws providing for the suspension of Habeas Corpus and the "indefinite detention without trial" for anyone belonging or assisting the Slayers.

Overnight, Slayers became hunted not just across the country, but around the world. Those girls that were unlucky enough to get picked up in the first sweeps were never heard from again. The official line was that captured Slayers were being held in "special" detention centers, Riley had managed to gather evidence to what had actually happened to some of the girls…it gave Faith nightmares.

To Faith and the others this situation was worse than when the Bringers were hunting the Potentials. How bad the situation had become was exemplified when news reports from Africa showed two Slayers being burned alive by a cheering mob that included their families.

If it hadn't been for Riley and Willow, they probably wouldn't have lasted this long. Riley had been able to provide access to resources — money, fake identification, places to hide out. Willow had been able to use her magic to charm objects for everyone that would hide them from magic locator spells and The First Evil to allow them to move around in public. There were also a lot of people that didn't believe the President and his propaganda and at great risk helped however they could.

Despite everything that had happened, Faith had continued to hold out hope that Paul and the others would return. Each day she kept hoping that this would be the one, but then nothing would happen. More days, then weeks and months went by. She couldn't recall exactly when she'd given up. It just seemed to happen gradually until one day she woke up and found that she didn't expect him to return anymore. She finally decided that to be effective, she had to stuff all those memories and feelings down as they were just painful reminders of what she'd lost. Now she just focused on staying alive each day and trying to fight back against the evil forces that were spreading across the country.

She didn't want to think about "what ifs", but when she looked at the night sky all those "might-have-beens" played through her mind. She knew that if Paul hadn't left, then this world would be a better place. There wouldn't have been Cleveland, Washington or Boston…there wouldn't have be the blood factories being setup across the country. If he'd stayed, she and the other Slayers wouldn't be hunted by both demons and the authorities.

She laughed to herself thinking about being hunted by the authorities. She'd been in trouble with police most of her life and even done time in prison. Paul had arranged for her to get a Presidential Pardon before he left because he thought she deserved a second chance and that they could have a future together. Now those plans and dreams for the future were nothing but ashes and once again she was a fugitive from the law. Out of reflex her hand went to the pendant under her shirt. Besides the Cyclone she drove, the pendant was the only thing tangible and real that she had left of Paul. She could feel the weight of the pendant pressing on her. She would have stopped wearing it years ago if Willow hadn't charmed it with the magic spell that was keeping her hidden from the First and others.

Starting her Cyclone, she felt the comforting power as she revved the engine. She glanced once more at the night sky, before flipping her helmet visor down. She peeled out of the parking lot leaving a cloud of dust, speeding down the highway into the night.


	2. Any old bed in a storm…

**WARNING: Some Suggestive Sexual Content**

 **CHAPTER TWO:**

 **Any old bed in a storm…**

" _…We didn't fully appreciate how much control The First Evil and Wolfram & Hart exerted over the government after the White House attack and Boston. I think Riley {Finn} had the best understanding of what was coming at all of us. It was most fortuitous that General Coulson had planned for such a contingency. He {Riley} was instrumental in buying us enough time for Willow to perform her magic to hide us. Still we lost so many friends and allies in those first days of the round-up… Robin {Wood} was shot down in the street by the FBI for 'resisting arrest' as he provided a distraction for some Slayers to escape. We were also lucky to find new allies and friends that hadn't been fooled by all the propaganda. These new friends proved invaluable in assisting us in our resistance to what was happening across the country…_"

— Rupert Giles

 **oOoOo**

Andres Rodriguez was elbows deep inside the truck whose engine he was working on. He knew that it was an electrical short, but even with his experience working on engines, it was always hard to find where the short was. He was pondering his options, when a sound caught his ears. He immediately recognized the sound as it was distinctive. He also knew who it was that was making the sound and a smile came to his face as he pulled himself out of the engine, grabbing a cloth to wipe his hands as he walked out of the repair bay into the bright afternoon sunshine.

He didn't have to wait long as the engine noise got louder. He could easily make out the motorcycle that was coming down the highway at high speed, suddenly slowed down to pull into his gas station. His smile got bigger as the bike pulled up beside one of his gas pumps. The rider turned off the bike and sat back, taking off her helmet. Andres found himself studying the woman's face first, his eyes then moved down her body taking in her sleek lines.

"Fill'er up?" he said moving closer.

"Always," the woman said with smirk that to him always lit up her face, except for her eyes. Her eyes always seemed to be sad, angry or in pain.

 _She needs to laugh more_ , the man thought.

"How you doing Faith? It's been awhile."

"I'm surviving Andy. How's it hanging?" Faith said still smirking.

"For you, always long and hard," Andy said with a laugh and twinkle in his eye, "You staying or passing through?"

"If you don't mind, can I crash here for a couple days?" Faith asked as her smirk grew into a small smile.

Andy felt his heart start to pound faster in anticipation as when Faith stayed for a visit they usually ended up in bed together. His eyes looked her over again, trying to keep his excitement from growing, "The key is under the backdoor mat, as my people always say mi casa es su casa…"

Faith laughed, "Your people? I thought you were a true born and raised Texan?"

"Shhh… I don't want it getting around that I'm a good ol' boy," Andy added with his own laugh, "Anyway go make yourself at home… Beer is in the fridge, you know where the towels are and the clothes you left the last time you were here are in the dresser in the guest bedroom. I've got to finish up here first."

"Thanks," Faith said giving him an appreciative smile.

"Do you want me to give you the once over, while you're here?" Andy asked looking over the Cyclone, appreciating the technology and design of the bike.

The smirk returned to Faith's face as a gleam came to her eye as she looked Andy up and down, "The bike can have the once over… I'm hoping for a twice or three times over."

 **oOoOo**

Standing in front of the bathroom mirror, Faith wiped away the condensation from the mirror. Leaning forward, she studied her face. Considering everything that she had managed to live through, she had to admit that she still looked hot even for being the grand old age of twenty-eight. She took a moment to admire her form wrapped up in a towel after having a refreshing shower. Her eyes drifted to the jade pendant that pressed against her skin, she let out a sigh.

 _What the hell are you doing here?!_ she thought, getting a small stabbing feeling of guilt while looking at the pendant. She looked back at her face, catching the look in her eyes in the reflection.

 _This doesn't mean anything… You're just here for the sex… You can't live your whole life being a nun... You've got needs and wants…_

Her first time visiting Adamsville, Texas was just over two years ago. A bunch of vampires were terrorizing the area and pretty much having free rein over the locals. She had come in and did what she did best. Her plan was to leave, but there had been something about Andy, who she found was pretty good in fight, but that was probably due that he'd been in the Marines. Up to that point she'd still been dealing with Paul not returning. She hadn't really planned on sticking around or what happened next. One thing lead to another and after quite a number of drinks, which included tequila shots, she was literally throwing Andy on his bed and they were both ripping each other's clothes off.

She'd left before he'd woken up and then spent the next several days berating herself over the guilt she was feeling with her one-night stand. She had never planned on coming back through Adamsville or seeing him again, but a few weeks later for some strange reason she found herself thinking about him and the next thing she knew, she was heading that direction. This time she'd stayed sober and they had ended up just talking. Since then, she'd made a point of circling through town every few weeks when she had a chance. She kept telling herself that it was just to scratch her itch and have a little fun, but she could see that Andy was developing deeper feelings for her.

 _Paul's gone and he's not coming back… He promised that he would come back… None of them are ever coming back… How long am I supposed to grieve for him?_

She was caught off-guard by the rising wave of anger and grieve inside her. She found herself taking deep breaths to calm down as she hadn't felt like this in years. Looking in the mirror again, the old memories were trying to push through. She remembered how happy she was with Paul and how they used to lay in bed afterwards and just talk.

 _I've made a mistake…_

Any further thoughts were interrupted as she heard the back door open and close. She exhaled deeply getting herself back under control. She stepped out of the bathroom, "Andy… I'm sor—," she stopped in mid-sentence as she found herself facing an older woman, who was giving her a surprised and angry look. Both women looked at each other uncomfortably. The other woman finally broke the silence.

"Hello, Faith…"

Faith took a deep breath as she felt the icy look the other woman gave her, "Celia…"

"I didn't know you were in town."

"I just got in."

There was another long moment of uncomfortable silence.

"Is Andres here?" Celia asked trying to keep her disdain and anger in check.

"He should be here soon," Faith replied feeling suddenly self-conscious of the fact that she was only wearing a towel.

"How long you staying this time?" Celia asked, the iciness obvious in her voice.

"Just a couple of days…"

"Of course," Celia said. She was making no attempt to hide the contempt in her voice, "I think I'll wait outside for my brother to come home."

"You can wait inside if you want," Faith offered.

"No, thank you… I think I would prefer waiting outside," Celia answered as she turned and hurried back out the door.

 **oOoOo**

Pulling into his driveway, Andy saw his sister sitting at his back door. He didn't need to see her face as he could read her body language. Exhaling a deep sigh, he shook his head in resignation at the argument that he could see that was coming straight at him. He'd barely gotten out of his truck and taken a step towards his house, before Celia was on him.

"Hi sis,"

"What the hell is that la puta doing here?!"

Andy sighed again, rolling his eyes, "Can you watch what you call Faith," he said in a somewhat calm voice.

Celia took a deep breath, "She's nothing but trouble for you and everyone in town. You know what the President called her and her kind," she said trying to control the anger in her voice.

"You got a pretty short memory there, sis! You forget that she put her ass on the line to save all of us!" Andy said, this time the anger was more obvious in his voice.

Celia sighed, holding up her hands in mock surrender, "I know… I know… But she's a walking time bomb… The police and the FBI are looking for her and her friends. They're—"

"Don't tell me you're buying that load of horseshit that trumped up wannabe dictator spouts on the news every night?!" Andy said in an exasperated voice.

"You know I don't!" Celia pleaded. She paused for a moment to calm herself, "This is just like when you told us that you put your name in to join that space mission. Look at how that turned out for all those people!"

"I have to do something! I can't just sit around watching and waiting!" Andy said, this time not holding back his anger

"What I'm worried about is you! Andres, you're not a Marine anymore. You've been out of the service nearly four years and you run a gas station. This woman has got you wound around her finger! For God's sake you almost got killed fighting t-those...creatures with her! Now she just rolls into town whenever she feels like it. You two play house for a couple of days and she rolls out again for God knows where and then you spend the next few weeks mopping and pining for that…that…woman!"

Andy sighed, "I'm a big boy, Celia. Who I want to get involved with is my own business!"

Celia sighed seeing that her younger brother wasn't going to see any sense, "I know, but I worry about you. Just her staying here could get you picked up and sent to one of those special detention centers!"

"Celia, open your eyes! There's a darkness spreading across this country and Faith and her people are the only ones that can stand up against it!"

Andy's sister shook her head in frustration, "I just hope you don't regret getting involved with her!" she said with a shrug before turning and walking away.

 **oOoOo**

Faith watched the candle light flicker off the wall as she rested her head on Andy's chest. She held up her hand, moving it slowly as the shadow danced across the wall.

"You okay?" Andy asked as he slowly and gently stroked her hair.

"I'm five by five."

"You haven't said much since I got home…you sure you okay?"

Faith sighed, "Maybe I should leave in the morning… I don't want to cause any problems for you," she said as she ran her fingers across Andy's chest.

Andy's face took on a more serious look as he realized that she had overhead his "discussion" with his sister, "No! You can stay as long as you want!"

"Your sister is right… I am a walking time bomb… Death surrounds me and everyone around me. You saw what happened to that girl on the news a couple of days ago?"

Andy tried not to shudder as he'd seen the news on the web in all its full color and gory detail. He tried to rationalize that in this day age that things like that couldn't happen, but the world had become a dark, fearful place over the last few years. That a village could actually crucify a young woman that was no more than a teenager, because she'd been accused of being a Slayer, convinced him more than ever that what Faith and her people were doing was the right thing.

"I want you to stay!" Andy said turning over, looking into her eyes.

"You're just saying that because of the fringe benefits I give you every time I visit," she said with a snort and a smirk.

"Hey… I'm not going to deny that I don't like being in bed with you, but it's more than that… I like being with you," Andy said with laugh, smiling at her.

Faith saw the look in his eyes and it reminded her of another person and another place. She felt the old pain start to return. She didn't want to go down that road again, it hurt too much, "I-I can't…" she said biting her lip, looking away from him.

Andy could see that she wanted to care, but he'd seen the pain in her eyes. His eyes dropped to the pendant hanging around her neck, "He must have been really special?" he asked.

Faith was surprised that even after all this time, she could feel her eyes start to blur trying to talk about Paul, "C-Can we not talk about this?" she asked almost pleading.

A wave of guilt hit him, seeing the look of pain and sadness cross her face. He didn't want to hurt her by bringing up which were obviously painful memories. He wanted to protect her and keep her safe. He knew that she carried the weight of the world on her shoulders and that she was strong and could take care of herself in a fight, but that still didn't make her invulnerable. It was plain as day that in terms of relationships and love, she was just as normal and vulnerable as everyone else. His curiosity about who could have her hurt so badly was stoked. He actually felt a stab of anger at the person that could have hurt her so badly like this, but he parked his feelings for now and decided to change subjects.

"Okay… I heard on the news about a terrorist attack in Phoenix. I take it that you were involved?"

Faith let out a sigh, glad that Andy got the message, changing the subject, "Yeah… They had a processing factory there. I hooked up with some friends of Riley's and we torched the place."

"That'll put a dent in their operations," Andy replied with a satisfied look on his face.

She sighed again only deeper, "It seems that for every one of those factories we find and torch, they bring two more online," she said seeing the grim, concerned look on Andy's face.

"So what's next?" he asked.

Faith wanted to tell Andy what was going to happen. She wanted to share what she was feeling. She wanted to tell him her fears and worries. It had been so long since she'd been able to do that with someone, but Riley had stressed the need for security.

Before her mission in Phoenix, she'd met with Buffy, Giles and Riley to discuss their situation and plans. The hard facts were that outside of the United States and some parts of Canada and Mexico, there was no organized resistance. With the Watchers Council gone and only a few overseas contacts that General Coulson had provided still alive, there was no way of organizing the Slayers, around the world, to the level needed for this fight. What they had here was barely hanging on having to face all the demonic threats plus the entire United States government. Things were getting so desperate that they had decided to implement their 'Hail Mary' pass and go for broke.

"I'm headed to Wichita. There's another factory setup there. We'll torch it like we always do and buy us some time," she said seeing a concerned look cross Andy's face. She felt a pang of guilt at having to deceive him.

Faith was telling the truth somewhat in that regard. She would be hitting the facility in Wichita, but it would be part of a larger co-ordinated offensive to hit as many places simultaneously to distract their enemy on the ground, while their actual goal was to take the high ground.

 _We either win big or it won't be much longer until they hunt us all down…_

"You can stay for a few more days? You don't need to rush off, do you?" Andy asked filled with worry. Every time Faith left, he never knew if he would see her again. The thought of her never returning…just disappearing as so many others had and never knowing what had happened to her hit him hard.

A small smile came to Faith's face, "Yeah… I can hang around here for a few more days," she said as her hand slide slowly down his chest and torso. She saw the smile grow on his face as his body responded to her touch. Seeing him, feeling his desire and the heat from his body…it made her feel alive. Being with him, she felt like she hadn't felt in a long time. She heard a small voice in the back of her head, screaming at her…telling her she was betraying Paul's memory, but how long was she supposed to wait. How long was she supposed to isolate herself and shutdown her feelings? Each day after they were overdue, she'd felt a little piece of her die, waiting in the vain hope that he would miraculously return or there would be news. Was she supposed to spend every day for the rest of her life like that?

Feeling that he was ready as she felt her own desires growing, she got on top of him. She had a momentary flashback to another time and place. She'd slept with Robin to escape her pain and forget her past. She hadn't given any thought to going any further with him as Paul had dropped into her life changing everything for her, but there had been the odd occasion where she wondered what would have happened if Paul hadn't shown up. Would she have hooked up with Robin, would she still be alone…or would she even be alive for that matter?

That wasn't even a possibility now, as Robin had been simple put, executed in the street by the government. A brief feeling of guilt and regret washed over her as she felt Andy inside her and saw the pleasure growing on his face. It seemed as if every guy she'd ever slept with had died. She pushed those morbid thoughts away as her desire grew. She found herself wanting to forget the past. She wanted to lose herself in the moment and enjoy the passion she was feeling. Even as her body began to move to the rhythm of the sex and her desires took over, a little voice inside her head was still hoping that Andy wouldn't suffer the same fate as the others.


	3. Best laid plans…

**CHAPTER THREE:**

 **Best laid plans…**

" _…All I remember is feeling numb when the Arcadia and other ships were declared missing. I saw what I was feeling mirrored in Buffy's and Faith's faces. It didn't seem real to any of us. Each of us dealt with the grieve in different ways. I was surprised by Faith, for the longest time she refused to give up hope. Buffy took it the hardest…she would have shut down if it hadn't been for Spike. He knew all about how she cared for James {Wright}, but he didn't care because he'd always loved her. He kept her from going over the edge until Cleveland. That was the proverbial final nail in the coffin for her emotionally. When Spike sacrificed himself to stop the Turok-Hans and close the Hellmouth, she stopped caring or at least she didn't show it outwardly anymore. Even Angel couldn't get her to come out of the shell she wrapped her herself in. That was probably one of the main reasons behind his decision to try and take out the Circle of the Black Thorn and hurt Wolfram & Hart. She was more than ever focused on her mission. To describe it in plain terms, she became more Slayer and less Buffy. In a strange way that was actually a good thing as she was ready to deal with what we had to face after the White House and Boston..._"

— Willow Rosenberg

 **oOoOo**

 _To the "Powers That Be" time had no meaning. Five years may as well have been five minutes as they watched events unfold across the galaxy. They may have been completely alien when compared to humans, but in terms of dealing with worry, confusion and uncertainty they shared similar characteristics._

 _"The path is not unfolding as it should be! Without the evolution of the Invid, all is at risk now!"_

 _"He hoped to return to her as he was…his love for her is strong."_

 _"The Shapings showed him what would happen if he returned when he wanted to!? They showed him what he needed to do and yet he refused to take the final step. I do not understand what he hopes to accomplish by choosing this course of action?"_

 _"Human emotions have always been difficult to control and predict…"_

 _"Yes, but his actions have created a chain reaction of events that could lead to disaster! The course of action he has chosen to follow will in all most likelihood cause her death...they could both die!"_

 _"Yes I know, but the Regess would not force him down a path he was not ready to go on. He has to choose to take that final step. There is still hope...even now the Shapings hint at a possibility."_

 _"What possibility?"_

 _"It is still unclear, but the Shapings hint at something even grander than we could have even hoped for if it all unfolds…"_

 _"I am not as optimistic as you..."_

 _"Maybe you, as the humans say, 'should take a leap of faith'. Events are now beyond even our ability to influence. We can only watch and wait to see how they unfold."_

 **oOoOo**

With the force of thrust and gravity pushing Samantha Carson, who once went by the surname of Finn, back into her seat, she found herself gripping the armrest of her seat so tight that her knuckles were turning white. She could feel her nerves and stomach tightening, but she wasn't sure if it was from this being her first time taking a shuttle into space, the mission she was on or a combination of the two. Her mind was overflowing with thoughts as she went over the plan, trying to look at every angle and cover every contingency. Her thoughts were interrupted as she felt a touch on her hand. Looking down she saw the hand gently squeezing hers and her eyes followed the arm back up to the person sitting beside her who was giving her a reassuring smile. Samantha returned the gesture by squeezing the redhead's hand and smiling back.

After what seemed to be an eternity, the g-forces eased and Samantha was able to move a little more easily as gravity lost its grip and weightlessness took over. Her traveling companion leaned over, "See that wasn't too bad...it's worse when somebody is shooting at you," the redhead whispered into her ear.

Samantha tried not to laugh too hard, looking over at Willow who was giving her a smirk. She suddenly felt calmer with Willow holding her hand. She would have preferred Riley here with her, but that wasn't going to happen under the present circumstances. She felt Willow squeeze her hand again and felt lucky to have her as a good second choice.

To say that the last few years had been insane would be a complete understatement. Looking back she knew that General Coulson had put a lot on Riley's and her shoulders when he'd basically given them the order to hold out until the Arcadia mission returned. That was never going to happen now and as a result a lot of good and innocent people had been killed, with the situation growing more desperate. They now only had themselves to try and pull out a victory against overwhelming odds. When this had started, she realized that sacrifices would be required, but she had no idea what she would be required to do or how her life would be turned upside down.

Willow leaned in again whispering, "We'll be docking soon."

Samantha felt her warm breath on her neck and her skin flushed and pulse quicken. That was another aspect to how everything had turned upside down for her in the last few years. That had been another "sacrifice" she'd been forced to make, but considering the circumstances it had at least been one of the more enjoyable ones. She and Riley knew how fast the situation was deteriorating after the White House attack with the President and SECDEF dead. They knew it was only a matter of time before it got worse, they just hadn't even considered the possibility until half of Boston was lying in ruins. They both knew that they had to have someone inside that could have access to the information that they would need to help with their fight. Riley knew that it couldn't be him and they couldn't be sure of whom else they could trust to handle what was required. That left Samantha, but the problem was that she would be easily suspected because of her marriage to Riley.

It had been a hard choice and Samantha had cried hard while her husband consoled her about what she had to do. The next day, she contacted the FBI to report that he was plotting with Buffy and the other Slayers for further attacks against the government. It would have been a hard sell job, but the bullet she put into his shoulder and the graze she took from his weapon helped to convince the authorities. Even after that, they knew that act alone probably wouldn't be convincing enough. They had to do something else to make Samantha's cover airtight. It could be done, but it would require sacrifices to be made.

She still had nightmares about Robin Wood being gunned down in the streets during that FBI raid. Riley had discussed it with Robin first and explained the situation along with the risk. Robin had accepted it without a second thought as he knew what was necessary and what the stakes were. All Samantha had done was pass along information about a "Slayer safe house" to the FBI. They had hoped that with enough warning everybody could get out and getaway, but the timing was off and the FBI hit the house early. Even after all this time, she could still feel the guilt gnawing at her, but she pushed it down as she focused on the bigger picture and what would happen if they failed.

What followed next for her was just as hard. She public denounced her husband as a traitor followed by an equally public divorce. That had been her lowest point, when she had to say such vile hateful lies about the man she loved. She couldn't even keep her wedding ring as the sentiment might have drawn suspicion. That had sealed Samantha's credentials with those in charge. The only problem was keeping her in contact with the rest of the resistance. That's where Willow had come in.

Riley had setup fake identifications for everyone and along with Willow's magic they'd been able to hide most of the people from the police, intelligence agencies, military, The First Evil and its helpers. Willow became a courier between Samantha and Riley to pass information back and forth. To not draw any unwanted attention or suspicions on their interactions, Samantha and Willow, using a fake persona, pretended to be involved with each other engaged in an on-again, off-again relationship. It had been different and uncomfortable for Samantha to play the part — showing the close displays of affection in public — at first.

Willow and her had been doing this "act" for nearly four years now, she couldn't recall exactly when it stopped being just an act. She still remembers the first time that they actually had sex together behind closed doors. There was friendship, tenderness and sexual desire between them, but they knew that there was no love. The sex, as well as enhancing their cover, was a release, an escape for both of them from the pressures and darkness that surrounded them daily. Samantha still loved Riley and she knew that Willow was still heartbroken over Kennedy disappearing with the Arcadia mission. They were both lonely and just trying to grab on to something to hold on to keep their sanity and keep going. Samantha was jolted back to the moment as the shuttle shuddered as it hard docked to the space station.

"This will work? Won't it?" Willow asked hesitantly, taking some deep breaths to calm herself as the realization of what they were about to attempt hit home.

Samantha gazed into her eyes trying to give her lover some reassurance, even while she was filled with her own doubts, "It'll be fine."

 **oOoOo**

Samantha tried to appear nonchalant as she made observations of the security setup of the space station and the space ship. They were challenged at a number of security checkpoints as they were lead, by armed guards, to the conference room aboard the USS Valley Forge. She wasn't concerned about her and Willow's cover story, they had spent the last couple of years getting things into place and Willow's bona fides would stand up to any deep check. She was a little surprised to see all the personnel dressed and armed with REF equipment.

Ever since Kinsey had taken power, he'd locked down access to REF weapons, ammo and other equipment. What equipment that had been left behind when the Arcadia and the other ships left was being strictly controlled. That was one of the traitorous acts that her husband had committed before going underground. Riley had "liberated" several crates of Gallant energy weapons and Wolverine assault rifles with ammo along with and more importantly Protoculture energy cells and extra mini-missiles for use with Cyclones.

She had heard rumors that Kinsey was putting together a sort of "Praetorian Guard" that would be equipped with Robotech weaponry, acting as his personal bodyguard. This was one of the more troubling developments that had forced her, Riley's and the other's hands. Kinsey and his supporters were planning for the long term as they had cancelled the midterm elections back in 2006 due to "ongoing security concerns". That several outspoken candidates that were vocal in their opposition to President Kinsey had either died in "accidents" or mysteriously disappeared contributed to validating the security concerns. Several Senators and Congressmen challenged the cancellation in the Supreme Court, but it became obvious that Kinsey had the majority of the justices supporting him.

When General Coulson had left on the Arcadia mission, he had taken steps to ensure that his people had control of the orbital space station and the small fleet of light cruisers. For the first couple of years when Kinsey was assuming and consolidating his power base, he'd left the space forces alone, but Samantha had heard of plans in the works to get his people in control of the space station and the ships under US control. That had been one of the main motivating factors in going ahead with this plan.

She was still noting details as their escort admitted her and Willow to the room. Seeing Captain Lynch standing as they entered, Samantha was relieved as there was always a risk that he'd been compromised and that they were walking into a trap.

"Ms. Carson," the Captain said as he shook her hand.

"Captain Lynch, good to see you. This is Ms. Willow Ross, she's a technical consultant that works with both DARPA and NASA," Samantha said.

She saw the look of hesitation in the Captain's eyes, "It's okay Captain, Willow is very familiar with what's going on. She's here to advise and report back to Riley on your status."

"Okay," Lynch said showing an obvious sign of relief as he offered seats to the women to take around the small conference table, "You probably want to know our status?"

Willow spoke, "I've been keeping abreast of your status reports, some of the reports are...um...strange."

Lynch sighed as he wasn't sure if the two women would believe him, "I've talked to the Captains on the European, Russian and Chinese ships and they will either help or stand down...the problem is with the cruisers Enterprise and Saratoga."

"What's the problem with them? I thought we had our people onboard those ships?" Samantha asked with a concerned face.

"We did have our people aboard, until a week ago, both cruisers had their crews pulled and replaced with new people sent straight up from the surface," Lynch answered.

"Shit!" Samantha swore, "Why the hell are we just hearing about this now?!"

"It was done with no advance warning and the orders came up with the replacement crews. I haven't been able to get messages down to the surface to let you know..."

"Can we get these crews to join us or at least stand down?" Willow asked mirroring Samantha's concerned look.

Lynch shook his head, "No way... I tried engaging the Captains in conversation and feel them out, but from what I was able to find out was that these people were hand-picked by Kinsey, It's only a matter of time before my crew and myself are replaced as well..."

Samantha read Lynch's face and could see that something else was bothering him, "What else is wrong?" she asked.

Lynch exhaled a deep sigh, "I-I don't know...there's something off about all those people. They keep to themselves, barely coming off their ships. We also see boxes marked food being loaded on the ships, but..."

"But what, Captain?" Samantha asked, getting a really bad feeling.

Lynch's eyes darted around the room nervously, "I got one of my crew to look inside one of those boxes...when he opened it all he found was sealed bags of blood..."

 **oOoOo**

Technical Sergeant Cathy Mah tried stifling a yawn as she stared at her monitoring display console. The Sergeant was attached to the 20th Space Control Squadron at Eglin Air Force base. Her job was to detect, track, identify, and report all near earth objects (NEOs) and deep space objects (DSOs). To her it was just another standard shift of looking at the space surrounding Earth.

She'd submitted a request to serve on the space station or one of the cruisers, but those position slots were highly coveted. She'd resigned herself to the harsh reality that looking at a display screen was the closest she was ever going to get to space. Thoughts of her future were interrupted as a warning alarm flashed on her console.

 _What the hell?_ she thought as she quickly typed in commands to bring up more information and also check her console to make sure that it was working properly.

As she read the results displaying on her screen, she got a strange feeling of dread as she reached for her phone to alert her supervisor.

 **oOoOo**

"So Howard, where do we stand on our push to repeal the twenty-second amendment?" President Robert Kinsey asked looking at his Chief-of-Staff seated on the other side of his desk in the oval office.

"It shouldn't be a problem, Mr. President. We've laid all the ground work for it and the House Majority Leader will introduce the motion in two weeks. We already have the two-thirds majority support in both houses, so passing it shouldn't be a problem."

Kinsey could read the man's face and saw the nervousness there, "What's the problem, Howard?" he asked in tone that implied a lot.

The Chief-of-Staff gulped as he knew what happened to those that failed or held back information — even bad news — from the President, "S-Sir... it's nothing. Just a few Senators and Congressmen have been raising questions about why Presidential term-limits need to be repealed. Also we've getting a few calls from a number of Governors as they've gotten wind of this too. They're asking for a constitutional convention to discuss repealing the amendment since the mid-term elections were cancelled."

Kinsey's face took on an angry look which caused the Chief-of-Staff to gulp again and fight to control his growing fear, "What the hell!? Have you told them that the country needs a strong hand during these uncertain times?"

"Y-Yes, s-sir!"

"And they're still calling me...my presidency into question!?"

"Y-Yes, s-sir!"

Kinsey sat back in his chair fuming as he thought about how those insignificant "people" would dare oppose him. A smirk came to his face as he planned how he would deal with this opposition.

"I want a list of everyone...and I mean everyone that is actively opposing me on this."

"Y-Yes, sir!"

"I mean, I want everyone who has even raised a voice of doubt or questioned me..."

"S-Sir?"

"I think that it's time to clean house...get rid of those that are holding us back. Understood?"

"Y-Yes, sir! Y-You're right as always...we need to remove anyone against us."

"Excellent Howard, I want that list by end of today," Kinsey said with a wave of his hand dismissing his Chief-of-Staff.

The man blinked as it took him a moment to realize that he was being excused. Nodding his understanding, he got up to leave. The President spoke again, catching him by surprise causing him to turn to face him so quick that he almost lost his balance.

"Howard... I want you to find me another intern."

"S-Sir?"

"I broke that redhead last night, she just couldn't handle everything I wanted to do," Kinsey said with a smirk, "This time I want something younger and blonde...and flexible. She has to be flexible," he added as his smirk grew into a more sinister looking smile as he saw his Chief-of-Staff's face go white.

The President tried not to laugh as he watched the man scurry off out of his office. Leaning back in his chair, he started dreaming of where he was going to lead the country and what he was going to do to the intern tonight. He felt his pulse quicken in anticipation of both desires.

 _Hmmm...the oval office is soundproof... I should really play in here one of these times... It would be just the damn mess to clean up afterwards..._

His daydreams were interrupted by his phone ringing. Kinsey's smile started to fade and he was tempted to have the person that was disturbing him killed as he picked up the handset, "Yes?"

His smile completely disappeared as he listened to the report being given to him.

 **oOoOo**

"Vampires! They put frigging vampires aboard those cruisers!" Samantha said not believing what she was saying.

"Are you sure it was blood that your crewman found?" Willow asked feeling the same disbelief.

"Y-Yeah...he took a photo of one of the bags as he knew that no one would believe him without evidence... W-What do you mean v-vampires?" Lynch asked hesitantly.

Samantha swore again, "It's exactly as I said...vampires. The undead that feed on blood! Damn it! We should have seen this move!"

"You're kidding...right?" Lynch asked looking at both women strangely.

Willow sighed deeply, "I wish we were... I—"

The communication panel interrupted what Willow was going to say, _"Captain to the bridge!"_

Lynch got up, quickly picking up the handset from the com panel, "Lynch here...what is it?"

Samantha and Willow watched as the Captain's eyes went wide in surprise, "I'm on my way!" he said with urgency in his voice that surprised and worried both women

"What's the problem?" Samantha asked as she watched Lynch hang up the handset.

Lynch looked at her as if she was from another planet, "You need to come to the bridge with me...something...something is happening," he said as he moved towards the conference room door.

Samantha and Willow looked at each other in confusion, but didn't hesitate as they followed the Captain to the bridge.

 **oOoOo**

Everyone stood to attention as Kinsey entered the situation room. He quickly waved everyone to take their seats as he took his seat at the end of the table, "What's happening?"

"Sir, as we reported earlier, fifteen minutes ago our deep space radar and other sensors started picking up anomalies nearly half-a-million kilometers past the moon. They appear to be getting stronger and more pronounced," reported an Air Force General.

"Do we know what it is or what's causing it?" Kinsey demanded in a hard tone.

The Air Force General's face was filled with nervousness, but he knew what would happen if he held back bad news, "Sir, everything seems to indicate that we are seeing the beginning of a space-fold transition...a very large space-fold transition."

It took a moment for this news to sink for the President, "Y-You're saying that something is arriving?"

"Yes, sir."

"Y-You're saying t-that the A-Arcadia and other s-ships are c-coming h-home?" Kinsey asked feeling his world start to crumble around him. For a moment he debated clearing the room, so he could talk to his master and get directions.

 _Damn it! I am the President of the United States... I should be able to deal with this..._

"I can't say with one hundred percent certainty. The event forming fits the profile, but this is much larger, sir."

Kinsey could feel the sweat rolling down his back. If the Arcadia and the other ships returned they could make a play against him. They had enough firepower to force him to surrender and he knew that damned General Coulson and Captain Coleiro would force him to step down once they found out what had been going on over the last few years.

 _I still have one card left to play_ , he thought trying to figure a way out of his dilemma.

"General, order the Enterprise and Saratoga to move out and take a position close to that space-fold point. Once the Arcadia arrives, they are to fire everything they have on the Arcadia and other ships to destroy them!"

"S-Sir?"

Kinsey knew that he could count absolutely on the crews of those two cruisers. It was the other ships he wasn't certain of. He'd always suspected that Coulson had filled space command with his people. It had taken time, but he'd just started weeding out anyone that was suspect and put his own people in place. There were no doubts about the loyalty of the people on the Enterprise and Saratoga.

"You heard me General! The commander of the Arcadia was involved with a Slayer and that makes him complicit with their terrorist organization! If we allow them to establish orbit there is no telling what destruction they could unleash on all of us!"

"Yes, sir!"

 **oOoOo**

Samantha and Willow followed the Captain on the bridge. They were surprised by the sense of urgency that the bridge crew was moving around with.

"Report!" Lynch ordered.

One of the bridge officers stepped forward, "Sir, we've detected a gravitational disturbance forming just past the moon."

"What kind of disturbance?" Lynch asked as he sat in his command chair.

"Sir...it appears to look like the beginning of a space-fold transition."

Before Lynch could say anything, Willow shouted out, "The Arcadia...is it the Arcadia!"

Samantha saw the hope flare across Willow's face. She was suddenly struck by the same feeling of hope. Thoughts raced through her mind.

 _They've returned... They came back..._

"We don't know if that's them, so let's not jump ahead of ourselves," Captain Lynch said quickly trying to keep everyone focused on their jobs as he could see the excitement race through his bridge crew, "We do this by the book...we have an unidentified object, possibly ships about to execute a space-fold into our space."

"SIR!"

"What is it?" Lynch asked trying to figure out what was going on now.

"Enterprise and Saratoga are heading towards the space-fold co-ordinates... I'm detecting increasing power levels... SIR! They're powering up their particle beam turrets!"

"Damn it!" Lynch muttered.

"Warn them off! Tell them to stand down until we can form the fleet up!" he ordered.

"Sir, they're not responding!"

Lynch swore to himself, "Okay, contact the rest of the ships. Have them form up on us and we'll take up a defensive position just within weapons range of the co-ordinates... Weps."

"Sir?"

"Get me a missile lock on both the Enterprise and Saratoga! Bring our particle beam turret online and make sure that we have a lock as well on both ships!"

"Sir! We're receiving orders from Space Command to move up and support the Enterprise and Saratoga. We are to fire on any ships that appear!" the communications officer reported.

Lynch took a deep breath as he knew this was the moment where things went to hell in a hand basket, "Ignore those orders... Tell the Enterprise and Saratoga that if they fire on the Arcadia and any of her escorting ships, we will fire on them and destroy them."

He saw his communications officer staring at him in shock, "Send it!" he ordered as he knew that he was crossing a line from which there was no return. He just hoped that everything worked out.


	4. A new enemy

**CHAPTER FOUR:  
A new enemy**

 _"…The effectiveness of Wolfram & Hart's media campaign still reverberates even today as there are still some people that defend President Kinsey's Anti-Slayer agenda and policies. In some conspiracy circles, the Slayers and by extension the REF are still blamed for the White House attack and the disaster in Boston. This is even despite the overwhelming evidence of Kinsey being co-opted by The First Evil and involved with the planning of the murders of President Hayes and his cabinet and pointing the blame at the Slayers. These same people argue that the Slayers are nothing more than an extrajudicial death squad running around, killing whoever they want to with no oversight, control or accountability. Even with the Alliance taking a more enlightened and pragmatic response with Slayers {e.g. encouraging them to join the Alliance Navy or Marines} and magic {e.g. regulations governing use}, these fringe groups still push for controls over the Slayers, notwithstanding Admiral Coleiro's dealings with The First Evil and his final solution to the demonic problem on Earth…"_

— Excerpt from _"The Devil's Counsel – The Story of Wolfram & Hart"_

 **oOoOo**

The vampire who was in command of the cruiser USS Enterprise found himself dealing with a quandary. Along with the cruiser Saratoga, his ship was heading for an intercept course to the point in space, where according to sensor data, indicated a space-fold was in the process of taking place.

With the forming space-fold point, it appeared as if the long lost Arcadia Expedition was returning home. They had received orders from President Kinsey to fire on and destroy the ships as they appeared back into normal space. The commander had no problems with his orders as he was looking forward to destroying the Arcadia and other ships. He would have been smiling at that thought, but what was causing him concern was that the Valley Forge and the rest of the small international task force was coming up on his stern at full-speed, warning him off. The weapons-lock that they had detected on his ship and the Saratoga was evidence of their seriousness. Standing down was not an option for the commander or his crew, the retribution they would suffer would be far worse than dying, for him it was an easy choice.

"Coms...tell the Saratoga to keep all weapons locked on to those fold co-ordinates!"

"Yes, sir!"

"Weps...keep our particle turret aimed on to those co-ordinates and get me a firing solution on that vermin on the Valley Forge!"

"Yes, sir! How many of our missile launchers should I target at them?"

"All of them!" replied the commander.

 **oOoOo**

"SIR! The Enterprise is locking missiles on to us!"

"Damn it!" Captain Lynch muttered as his options just got fewer, "Prepare to fire on my mark! Standby to release countermeasures and initiate ECM protocols!"

A chorus of "Yes, sirs!" rang out from the bridge as Samantha and Willow watched from the sidelines just trying to stay out of the way. Samantha saw the hope and eagerness in Willow's face. She didn't want to be the one to dash her hopes, but she couldn't stand to see her disappointed.

"Willow, we don't know if Kennedy will be with them or if it is even them," she said as she took Willow's hand in hers, squeezing gently.

She saw the desperate look of hope on Willow's face as she turned to face her, "I know... I know, but I can't help it!"

Samantha was going to say something else, but was interrupted as a cry went out from the sensor station, "We've got ships defolding! The ships...my god! There—"

 **oOoOo**

"Those aren't our ships!" called out the crewman manning the sensor station, "The computer is identifying them as 'unidentified hostile types'!"

The vampire commander's face was shocked as he heard the report while staring at the display screen, as alien ships kept defolding by the dozens. He saw the huge, ominous tubular-shaped black and red ships the smallest which easily dwarfed his light cruiser and a feeling of dread filled him. The vampire was frozen in shock as space in front of him continued to fill with the alien ships.

"Sir! What do we do?" the first officer shouted out seeing his commander not responding.

The commander was finally shaken out of his shock by the repeated badgering by his first officer, "F-Fire..." he said in a hoarse voice.

"Sir?" the first officer asked not sure if he heard his commander properly.

The commander heard the question and pushed his fear and anger down as he finally had a target he could vent it on, "DAMN IT! YOU HEARD ME! FIRE! FIRE EVERYTHING!"

 **oOoOo**

At the center of the emerging fleet, onboard a huge dreadnought-class ship, figures wearing cloaks that hid their true form looked at the holographic command display as it streamed data and information of their fleet and surrounding area.

"Prelate, all ships report successful defolding."

"Are we at the correct co-ordinates?"

"Yes, Prelate...it is as the Awareness provided."

Prelate Dejan studied the display, feeling a sense of satisfaction at arriving in this planetary system. Now came the hard part, "Scan for enemy vessels, orbital and planetary defenses."

It didn't take long for the report to come back, "Prelate, scans indicate only eight human light-cruiser class ships on an intercept course with us. We also scan only one rudimentary orbital facility and a large number of smaller satellites which appear to be used for communication purposes."

Dejan found himself feeling somewhat surprised at the report about the lack of defenses surrounding the planet, "Are you sure? Could there be ships further out in the system or hiding behind the planet's moon?"

"Yes, Prelate. We are only scanning energy signatures from the eight ships...no power indications of any heavy cruiser, battleship or battle-fortress class ships in system. They appear to not have any fighters either. Scans indicate no shielding around the light-cruisers...they appear to have not been modified to the same extent as the same class we have faced previously."

Dejan was still trying to figure out what the inhabitants of this world were up to at having such a pathetic defense.

 _Maybe they thought that their distance from us would protect them... It is time to prove them wrong of that idea..._

"Sir, should we implement the first primary plan?"

Dejan considered it for a moment. The primary plan had been developed with the idea that the human's home world would be heavily defended. The idea was to fight through the defenses and lay waste to the planet's surface wiping out the home world of that accursed species and take their revenge. That the defenses were almost non-existent opened up possibilities that had only been considered a remote possibility.

 _The chance to hurt him even more… Make him personally feel pain and anguish for everything he has done to us… The Awareness said we could hurt him if we could find_ her _… We were going to take the blunt force approach, but now we can be more selective_ , he thought, feeling the rising anticipation of revenge well up in him as thoughts of striking back at their most hated adversary flowed through him.

"No...we will go with our secondary operational plan. Inform the fleet to destroy the enemy ships and orbital platform... We will then move into orbit and force them to surrender. If they resist we will commence orbital bombardment of select targets. Inform the fleet to prepare for ground operations."

"Yes, Prelate."

 **oOoOo**

Samantha and Willow watched in shocked horror along with the rest of the bridge crew as it seemed as an unending wave of ships continued to defold.

"Status of hostile forces?" Captain Lynch ordered.

"Sensors showing one hundred and fifty plus with more still arriving..."

 _My God_ , Lynch thought as he felt dread and despair grip at him. His attention was diverted as another crewman called out.

"SIR! Enterprise and Saratoga are firing on the unknowns!"

Lynch took a deep breath and got himself under control. Looking at the display screen and seeing how badly outnumbered his force was, left him with few options. Sensor scans were providing more details of the enemy ships they were facing as he saw the first shots by the Enterprise and Saratoga strike the aliens. Readouts indicated that the enemy ships had energy shields as particle beams and missiles hit home. He read the scans and quickly decided on his course of action, "Inform all ships to engage the unknowns! Co-ordinate with the other ships to concentrate our firepower on the closest ships…that's the only way we'll burn through their shields quickly! Tell all ships to keep moving and maintain their distance. Also inform them to standby with their fold systems...we'll try and sting them and then execute a mini-fold to Mars."

"Y-You're abandoning Earth!" Willow blurted out.

Lynch turned to face the two women. He understood what he was doing and it gnawed at him too, but he had no options, "We have no choice...you see how many of them there are. Our only hope is to sting them and retreat and keep on conducting hit and run attacks while we figure out who the hell we're dealing with. We'll use the research base on Mars as our base of operations for now."

"Sir! We have missile lock on nearest hostile ships!"

Lynch didn't hesitate, "FIRE!" he ordered. The ship shuddered as the first wave of missiles left their launch tubes.

 **oOoOo**

Kinsey stared at the display screen in utter shock as the space station relayed real-time video of the battle taking place in orbit. His eyes were locked on the screen as the situation room around was in complete chaos as orders were issued and requests for more information were shouted about. He was barely aware of the officers asking…begging for his attention.

"Mr. President…we need to alert all our nuclear forces!"

"Sir! We need to mobilize the Air Force, Army and notify the National Guard!"

"We need to notify the public!"

Kinsey finally pulled his eyes away from the screen, looking dumbfounded at the people in the room staring at him.

Panic filled thoughts filled his mind as his eyes were drawn back to the video screen, _This isn't how it was supposed to be! This isn't what I was promised…I was supposed to rule everything on the planet… This wasn't how it was supposed to end!_

 **oOoOo**

"Prelate, the closest two human ships have been destroyed. We are now engaging the other human ships."

"What is their status?" Dejan asked.

"They are maintaining their distance. They are using their missiles and particle beam weapons to great effectiveness...they are concentrating their fire on individual ships to maximize damage. We have lost one cruiser and several others have sustained damage. Our cruiser screen is moving to close the distance to engage."

Dejan took a moment to consider the tactical situation, "Launch Wraiths to take out the remaining human ships and the space station," he ordered, "Prepare the fleet to enter orbit and begin scans of the surface. Primary targets will be any planetary defense installations and large population centers."

"Yes, Prelate."

 **oOoOo**

Lynch held on to his command chair as his ship heaved, "Damage Report!"

"Near miss, sir! Just some minor outer hull damage being reported…all systems still functional!" reported the damage control officer.

The crewman manning the sensor station called out, "Sir, we've lost the cruisers Andromeda, Marshall Vorontsov and Zheng He! Sensors are also indicating that the enemy fleet has launched a large number of smaller craft that are heading towards the ISS and us... They appear to be fighters!"

 _That does it! Time to get out of here_ , Lynch thought.

"Order the Baden and Govorov to fold immediately! We'll cover them and rendezvous with them at Deimos!"

"Yes, sir!"

Lynch felt the sweat running down his back as the seconds and minutes passing by felt like hours.

"Sir! Baden and Govorov have folded!"

Lynch was about to order the Valley Forge to fold when the ship was hit. Everyone on the bridge was thrown about as it felt as if a giant had picked up the ship and thrown it to the ground. The Captain slowly picked himself off the deck trying to regain his senses, "REPORT!" he shouted trying to be heard over the din of alarms filling the bridge.

"We took a direct hit on our turret! It's gone!"

Lynch swore at losing his main offensive weapon. He didn't have time to bemoan it further as another report was shouted out.

"SIR! FOLD SYSTEM IS DESTABILIZING! REFLEX FURNACE IS OVERLOADING!"

Willow heard the report and immediately realized that the hit they took and destruction of the turret must have sent a power surge through the ship's power system. She didn't hesitate as she rushed to the bridge engineering station, "We have to shunt the excess power from the furnace otherwise it will blow!"

The engineer manning the station looked at her incredulously, "H-How do we do that?"

Willow was pulling up everything she'd ever learned about Reflex furnaces from her time spent on the Arcadia and years of study, "We need to send the power into another system…normally we could send it to the weapons system and have the particle beam turret fire higher intense blasts…"

"The turret's gone!"

"I know…that leaves us with only one system that can take that type of energy load," she said while franticly typing commands into the engineering console.

The engineer's eyes went wide in shock as he realized what she was doing, "The fold system is already destabilizing…it wasn't designed to handle that much power! The fold system on this ship is only designed for short jump distances it can't handle power like the Arcadia's system could!"

"I know, but we have no choice, the furnace is going to explode!" Willow replied concentrating on her work.

"REPORT!" Lynch shouted.

"I've managed to stabilize the fold system, but if we don't jump now, the overload will blow the ship up!" Willow reported.

"Okay…execute the fold to Mars!"

"Uh…that's going to be a problem," Willow said looking at the power readings on the console, "We need to jump beyond our range capability in order to use up the energy…we may still explode or just never defold!"

Lynch's gaze went back to the main display. The enemy fighters were almost upon them, he didn't hesitate, "DO IT! We're dead either way!" he ordered hoping that these weren't going to be his final commands.

Willow nodded in understanding, quickly pulling up navigation data, _We need to go far…really far. Don't have time to really pick a destination just hope the NAV computer will pull something up quickly_ , she thought.

Fold co-ordinates flashed on her console. She quickly hit the button to confirm that those were the co-ordinates she wanted. "We're good! Hit it!" Willow said.

She took a moment to gaze towards Samantha. Their eyes met and they both smiled at each other as they both recalled all the moments they had spent together and everything they had shared. Willow's curiosity grabbed for her attention as she heard Captain Lynch order the spacefold. She felt the ship shudder and heard the engines strain as the spacefold commenced. She had just gone with the navigation co-ordinates that the computer had provided, but she had no idea as to the actual destination that they were — hopefully — heading to. She pulled up more detailed information on the computer console. Her eyes went wide in shocked surprise as she saw the words display on the screen.

 _Tirol! We're headed to Tirol!_

She barely had time for this information to register in her mind before everything went white and she could no longer think or feel anything.


	5. Death from above

**CHAPTER FIVE:**

 **Death from above**

 _"…At the time we thought it couldn't have gotten any worse. First there was Cleveland...it cost us Spike. Then there was the White House and then Boston. We were being hunted down and I was still trying to deal with Dawn, Xander and James being declared missing, presumed dead. Fred managed to get word to us about what happened in LA. I know that I'm partly to blame for Angel's decision to take on The Circle of the Black Thorn and Wolfram & Hart. Giles called it a pyrrhic victory as he {Angel} was able to take down The Circle and inflict serious damage on the LA branch of Wolfram & Hart, but it cost us him, Wesley and Gunn in the process. I don't think I even cried at the time, that was how disconnected I was. I knew that Giles and Riley were worried about me, but there was nothing they could do as we were too busy just trying to stay alive and ahead of The First and the Government. Even after all that, we…I just couldn't believe that it could get any worse for us. Then the Haydonites arrived…"_

— Buffy Summers

 **oOoOo**

The first indication Faith had that something was wrong was when she was cut-off in mid-call with Buffy. The phone she was using was a military-style satellite phone with built-in encryption. Riley had provided those phones, so they could keep in contact from anywhere without worrying about any eavesdropping. She tried calling Buffy back. When that failed, she then tried calling some of her other contacts, but all she got was a "no signal available" message.

Her instincts kicked in and her worries immediately grew that maybe somehow the government had managed to locate her. She quickly started checking out of the windows of Andy's house for any suspicious vehicles or people. She found herself half-expecting a FBI or military tactical team to come barging through the doors any second, when she caught the distant sound of an alarm. At first she couldn't make it out, but it seemed to get louder. Her eyes went wide in shock as she finally recognized the sound as an air raid siren going off.

It was a surreal moment for her as the siren continued to wail. For a moment she couldn't believe that this was really happening. She suddenly recalled hearing that they used the alarms to warn people about tornados or other severe weather, but when she looked out the window all she saw was a sunny day without a cloud in the sky. She did notice a lot of contrails high in the sky going off in all directions. She was going to go outside to take a better look, when suddenly Andy's truck came roaring into the driveway, screeching to a halt. Faith rushed to the door, barely opening it as Andy came rushing in past her.

"What's wrong? What's going on?" Faith asked in an urgent confused tone.

Andy ignored her as he rushed to the living room, picking up the TV remote and turning on the TV. The flat-screen TV came on and the channel it was set to just had static going across the screen. He quickly changed channels and the first couple attempts also displayed static. He finally got a channel and a distinct sound filled the room, causing both of them to wince. A voice suddenly replaced the piercing sound as a text message displayed on the TV screen.

 _"This is the Emergency Alert System… The Federal Government from direction of the National Command Authority have authorized activation of this system to notify the population that the country is now in a state of national emergency. Please avoid any unnecessary travel at this time. Stay where you are…further details will be provided by authorities as soon as possible. Local media outlets will be provided with more information on what you should do and what precautions to take. This is the Emergency Alert System…"_

As the message repeated, Andy turned to face Faith. She could read the look of worry and concern on it.

"I was talking to Buffy and I lost the signal on my satellite phone…could that message be about us?" she asked suddenly feeling unsure. She started moving back towards the window, scanning around, again looking for anything out of the ordinary.

"No…there's something else going on," he said as he changed channels again and finally got a local news program. He watched as the news anchor looked to be confused and in a state of shock as he read from a paper held in his hands.

 _"We have unconfirmed reports that something is happening in orbit around the planet… We're not sure of what is happening, but there have been reports of fighters being scrambled from Air Force bases across the country… We have received reports from some observatories reporting massive explosions in space and that the UN Security Council has been called into an emergency session…"_

Faith's eyes went wide when she heard that they were talking about something happening in space. Her first thoughts were for Willow and Samantha. She knew that they should already be in space getting ready to put their part of the plan in play.

 _Maybe something went wrong? Maybe something forced their hand early? Damn it! I need to talk to Buffy or Riley to find out what the hell is going on!_

She was caught by surprise as Andy picked up the phone, checking it for a dial tone, "Land line is still working," he said as he dialed out.

"Who're you calling?" she asked.

"I got a friend who's with the 1st Cav at Fort Hood, he's assigned to their 1st Brigade Headquarters Troop," he said, waiting as the phone continued to ring. He was about to say something else, when a voice finally answered the other end, "Mike? It's Andy Rodriguez, what the hell is going on!?"

Andy could hear the bedlam in the background as his friend tried to talk over the noise. His eyes went wide in shock as he listened to what information his friend could provide. He found it hard to talk and hold on to the phone as he heard the news, "Thanks Mike…you stay safe and watch yourself out there," he said in a quiet voice as his friend ended the call.

Faith saw the look on his face and she got a real bad feeling as he put down the handset, "What!? What's going on!?"

 **oOoOo**

The Air Force General had a somber expression on his face as he gave his briefing, "Mr. President, we've lost most of our space fleet…we did receive a burst transmission from the cruisers Baden and Govorov. They executed a space-fold and are currently in orbit around Mars. They have made contact with the research outpost there and are awaiting orders. Unfortunately, they have almost exhausted their supply of missiles and there are no reloads there and supplies are limited. The International Space Station was destroyed several minutes ago…there were no survivors. Since then the alien armada has moved into a high orbit around the planet and been destroying all satellites around the planet. Our communications have been degraded, but land lines and undersea cables are still intact."

"What about the Russians and Chinese?" Kinsey asked trying to keep his fear and panic in control.

"We're trying to establish communication channels with them to better co-ordinate our defenses. We have been picking up a lot of radio chatter from the Russians…it looks like they will launch a nuclear missile strike if the aliens attempt to enter the atmosphere," the General replied.

"What about our nuclear forces?" Kinsey asked.

"We've been retargeting our land-based ICBMS, but they are of limited use in this type of scenario against moving ships in a high orbit. We could get some kills by blanketing space with overlapping nuclear explosions, but the first reports we received from our cruisers, were that the alien ships had some sort of defensive shielding…"

A Navy Admiral spoke up, "Sir, we've been sortieing out as many of our missile subs as fast as we can. They'll be taking up positions to provide support where needed."

"Army and National Guard units are mobilizing as we speak, sir! If the enemy attempt a landing we can move to contain," an Army General said quickly to let everyone know that the Army was still very much involved.

Kinsey tried not to laugh. He was no military expert, but even he could see that trying to move ground troops when the enemy controlled space was going to be difficult if not suicidal.

"Sir, we've scrambled our fighters to fly combat air patrols to intercept any craft that enter our atmosphere. We've also taken the precaution of dispersing some of our nuclear strike aircraft and fighters to remote air strips to hold back to use if the enemy lands."

 **oOoOo**

Faith and Andy were rooted to the couch as they watched the TV trying to get the latest news. He had managed to get a hold of his sister to check on her. She was heading to Houston to get their parents to bring them back to her place. They were both in agreement that staying in large population centers was not the best idea. The news was already filled with reports of looting in major centers across the country as people rushed to get what food and other supplies they needed to survive as panic set in. The National Guard was trying to mobilize to support police in maintaining law and order, but everything was being strained. They heard the latest reports, not believing that what they were experiencing was real.

 _"There have been unconfirmed reports that the International Space Station has been destroyed along with our space fleet… The White House has still to release any official statement as to what is happening other than that they are working with other world powers to co-ordinate efforts during this crisis… W-Wait… W-Wait…we are getting a report out of China…"_

 **oOoOo**

"Sir, the Chinese have launched a pre-emptive nuclear strike on the alien armada in orbit!" an Air Force officer reported as he pulled up information on to a large display screen in the situation room to show to the stunned gathering of military and civilian officials.

"And?" Kinsey asked, but not feeling hopeful as he read the officer's face.

"It's a mess, sir! Without satellite coverage, we're limited in what we can see, but it appears that all the missiles were intercepted…with limited or no damage to the alien ships. The aliens then responded…"

Kinsey closed his eyes as he asked the question, "How bad?"

"They hit their missile fields hard and they also took out some cities as well in retaliation… Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen and Tianjin are gone. Casualty estimates are at least fifty million dead, God knows how many wounded."

 **oOoOo**

Dejan studied the holographic display that was streaming the latest data. He was still perplexed over the tactical and strategic situation he found himself in. This planet had such rudimentary space facilities and defenses. He checked and confirmed that they were at the right space co-ordinates. The light-cruisers that they had faced were of Robotech design and similar to those he'd faced before, but there were no space yards or facilities that could support, let alone built, the type of forces they had faced back in their section of the galaxy and this vexed him.

"Status of our fleet?" he asked.

"Prelate, the missiles launched at our ships were of primitive design carrying primitive fusion warheads…they were not Reflex warheads. Our defensive systems easily handled them and we destroyed the launch facilities and a number of large population centers as per standard protocols."

"Good…what of other planetary defenses?" Dejan asked.

The other cloaked figure's single red glowing eye pulsed as the contempt was obvious in his voice, "They are just as primitive…we have detected ground-based missile systems on several of the planet's continents along with a number of submersible vessels that are armed with a rudimentary mix of fission and fusion warheads."

"I think that it is time for another demonstration to make these humans understand that any further resistance is futile," Dejan said in a cold voice.

 **oOoOo**

Kinsey sat back in his chair, trying to push away the competing voices as he tried to put his thoughts together and figure a way out of this situation that would keep him alive. His thoughts were rudely pushed aside as an Army officer stormed into the situation room.

"Sir! We've lost Pearl Harbor…Honolulu…all of it!"

Kinsey leaned forward trying to make sense of what the officer was saying, "You're saying that they hit Pearl?"

"No, sir…they hit the whole island. Everything…is gone! Oahu is gone!"

Stunned deathly silence filled the situation room, all anyone could hear was the heavy breathing as Kinsey tried to comprehend the magnitude of the disaster and destruction he was facing, "H-How?"

The stunned officer looked around the room, "We were in contact with our bases on the island and then they were just gone…just static. We got a garbled report from our space surveillance center on Maui…they reported huge blinding flashes in the direction of Oahu. We also got reports from several navy ships that had sortied from Pearl…they reported seeing a blinding flash before they were cut-off. There are no communications with the island…nothing on any military or civilian channels."

Kinsey could feel himself on the edge of panic, tasting blood as he bit the inside of his cheek to keep from screaming. Closing his eyes, he took a number of deep breaths to try and regain some semblance of control. After what seemed an eternity, he opened his eyes, looking around the room.

"Clear the room," he said in a lifeless sounding voice.

Everyone looked at him in stunned silence. Nobody made a move to leave. Kinsey could feel his anger start to grow and he now had a target to unleash it on, "GET THE HELL OUT OF HERE!" he screamed.

That shook everyone out of their stunned stupor, but they still didn't move fast enough as he kept screaming at everyone to get out of the situation room. He was finally alone as the last person hurriedly closed the door behind them. Kinsey was breathing heavily as he stood there staring at the door, feeling the sweat run down him.

 _This isn't how it was supposed to be! I was supposed to rule over all those pitiful people!_

His thoughts were interrupted by a voice from behind him, "Well Bob, it looks like you've got yourself into one heck of a predicament…"

Kinsey spun around, finding himself looking at the face of his predecessor sitting on the corner of his desk giving him a big smirk. Kinsey had to blink as he couldn't believe who he was seeing as that man had been dead for nearly four years, "W-Who? Y-You c-can't be h-him? H-He's—"

"Dead… The word you're looking for Bob, is dead," the image of his former boss said with a smirk.

"Bob, I've been watching since you helped to…uh…succeed me. I like what you've been doing with the place and I've come to help you."

"H-Help m-me? Y-You're not—"

"Of course I'm not actually him, Bob. I'm the other guy…you know, the guy that's really in charge."

Kinsey's eyes went wide in shock and he started breathing heavily as he finally realized who he was facing. He'd heard of The First Evil, but had never met the creature before. He realized some time ago that his demon master reported to The First, but he'd hoped that he would never have to deal with The First directly.

"Bob, take it easy…get yourself under control. We don't want you to be having any heart attacks right now. Not when we have this glorious opportunity…" The First Evil said still smirking.

"O-Opportunity!? H-How!?" Kinsey asked trying to grasp what the creature was telling him.

"Well it should be apparent that if these aliens had wanted to destroy the planet, they would have done so already… That must mean that they want something."

Kinsey nodded shakily as he listened to The First, "O-Okay…t-they w-want s-something. W-What c-can I-I d-do?" he said nervously trying to get control of his body and emotions.

"Bob… Bobby… Do what you do best. Make a deal and look after yourself in the process," The First Evil said with a huge smile.


	6. New Masters

**Author's notes:** I used the following site to reference background information on the Haydonite equipment and ranks (shadowchroniclesrpg_wikidot_com/haydonites). The Haydonite armored soldiers are called Reavers.

 **CHAPTER SIX:**

 **New Masters**

" ** _Haydonites:_** _Classified as a highly advanced cybernetic species. They were a technologically advanced space-faring life form indigenous to the planet Haydon IV. Not much is known about their origins as few records remain, but they were considered one of the older races, possibly pre-dating the Invid. Their physical appearance and biology is of great interest to xenobiologists as not much is known about their original physical form and the how, why and when they made the transition to a cybernetic form. Haydonites most commonly wrapped themselves in robes that hid their true form from others. The only known identifying feature was a singular, spherical robotic eye which glowed beneath their robes. The eye varied among individuals. The true meaning of this is unknown, but it has been hypothesized that it may have been a unique feature between individuals or could represent ranks of seniority. Without their robes, a Haydonite was nothing but a floating body (possibly indicating a gas-bag evolution). The body lacked any obvious limbs, with only a head and chest region. If a Haydonite was injured, they tended to leak a green fluid. It was at first thought that this fluid was blood, but blood analysis disproved this theory. This green fluid is now classified as a manufactured bio-mechanical fluid {_ refer to sections on Haydonite Organic Processing Facilities _}. Culturally and sociologically, Haydonites believed themselves superior to all species and that biological — organic — beings were no match for their mechanized might. The ultimate authority amongst the Haydonites was the entity known as the Awareness which appeared to be a form of computer mechanism. This large system had nodes present amongst the Haydonite ships and transmitted instructions to its servants with specific tasks that it had "foreseen". According to this entity, those species that used Protoculture as an energy source must be eliminated, all other "organic" races would serve the needs of the hegemony…_ "

— excerpt from _"The History of Robotechnology and the Alliance"_

 **oOoOo**

Pacing back and forth, President Kinsey would occasionally stop to look out the hanger door at the tarmac of Andrews Air Force Base. He tried to keep himself calm as he waited for the aliens to send down their representative to negotiate. When he had announced his intentions and plans to his cabinet and the officials in the situation room, there had been a moment where he actually thought that they would all turn against him. With the destruction of Oahu and a good portion of the country's naval, air and ground power in the Pacific, along with destruction in China, had brought a sobering realization to everyone that further resistance would bring nothing but death to the human race and an end to all life on Earth.

Kinsey had been able to talk to the Russian leadership and the remnants of the Chinese leadership to inform them that he was going to negotiate with the aliens. Surprisingly it was easier to contact and communicate with the aliens than it had been to talk to the other world powers, under the current condition, to inform them what his intentions were. There had been a lot of raised eyebrows that the aliens had understood English which raised a lot more questions. Kinsey wasn't worried about any of those questions, his main concern was to try and negotiate from an extreme position of weakness and somehow keep him in a position that gave him the most advantage.

Words like _collaborator_ and _traitor_ didn't even enter his thoughts. In his mind he was being pragmatic. He'd always been an ambitious politician and when he'd been given the opportunity to serve his master because it would benefit himself, he hadn't hesitated. To him words like… _good_ or _evil_ meant nothing in the end, there was only the _power_ …the power to control others and to fulfill one's destiny. With the arrival of these aliens, it was just another master he would have to serve…making himself indispensable to serve their power and reap the rewards for his servitude. These negotiations were just a formality, he would agree to any terms they presented, he was using these negotiations as a sort of job interview…to show how useful he could be to these new masters.

Further thoughts of his future were interrupted as a distant rumbling, like thunder, got louder. Kinsey took a deep breath to steel his resolve and moved towards the hanger door, followed by his aides and Secret Service detail. They froze in their tracks as a huge ship descended from the sky, escorted by a huge number of smaller craft. The large cruiser hovered at ten thousand feet, but its size seemed to fill the late afternoon sky above the air base. Everyone stood in frozen shock as they watched what apparently looked like a shuttlecraft descend from the cruiser escorted by fighters. The shuttle landed near the hanger as the fighters peeled off to resume their patrol of the skies. Everyone held their breath as the ramp on the back of the shuttle descended.

"Jesus…" someone muttered as figures descended down the ramp.

Kinsey couldn't help but concur with that assessment as the first figures down the ramp were huge armored figures that looked like they came straight out of a nightmare. The robot-looking creatures were nearly ten feet tall. They were huge with weapons mounted on each arm. Instead of fingers on each hand, they had armored claws. If the aliens were looking to intimidate him and his group, they had easily accomplished that mission as Kinsey found himself trying to keep his bowels from losing control. Everyone's attention was on the huge scary looking robots that they almost missed the smaller hooded robed figure that followed behind them.

"Which one of you is President Kinsey?" the cloaked figure asked in an eerily disconnected voice.

Kinsey had a moment of doubt, staring at the huge armored creatures and back at the cloaked figure that had one bright red eye showing from underneath its hood. He knew that there was no turning back from this course of action.

 _The First is right… I have to grab and make my opportunity from this situation_ , he thought as he took a deep breath and stepped forward.

"I'm President Robert Kinsey… I'm the leader of the United States of America. Who am I addressing?"

"I am Adherent Taudan of the Adjudicator Sect… You will follow me and board my shuttle. I will take you aboard my cruiser. There you will communicate with Prelate Dejan of the Exemplar Sect who is commander of the 12th Grand Fleet of the Haydonite Hegemony. You will receive our terms for your planet's surrender and occupation by the hegemony and how your species will serve us."

Kinsey heard the mutterings from the people behind him. Knowing what had happened to China and Hawaii and seeing the huge armored alien soldiers, he knew that even if he had wanted to resist that it would be only a futile gesture and that a ruined planet circling the sun would be the only monument left to show the universe that the human race had existed. Moving towards the cloaked figure, he was immediately followed by his aides and security detail. Everyone froze as the two alien armored soldiers stepped forward, raising their arms and pointing the weapons mounted on them at the group.

"We will only discuss your surrender with Kinsey," Taudan said in a commanding voice.

Kinsey took another deep breath, turning to his people he waved them back before stepping forward and following the cloaked figure up the shuttle ramp followed by the huge armored soldiers. The President was hoping that he wasn't going to regret listening to The First as the doors of the shuttle closed and it lifted off the ground.

 **oOoOo**

As Kinsey followed the cloaked alien off the shuttle, he glanced around the landing bay and any whispers of doubts or reservations about his decision were finally resolved as he saw the numbers of fighters and armored soldiers arrayed in the landing bay. The Air Force had estimated that there were two hundred alien ships in orbit around the planet and if they were all outfitted like this then he knew that they wouldn't be able to stand against any attack.

Kinsey continued to follow the alien through the labyrinth of ship's corridors, they final arrived at a large doorway. The armored doorway automatically opened, ushering them into a much larger room. Kinsey had no idea where he was or what the purpose of the room was, until an image of another clocked figure appeared in the middle of a circular table in the middle of the room. He realized that he was looking at a holographic image of another alien, he jumped a little when the image addressed him.

"You are President Kinsey?"

"Y-Yes…"

"I am Prelate Dejan, commander of the Haydonite fleet…"

"H-Haydonites?"

"That is our species…we control and oversee a vast area of space on the other side of the galaxy. It is called the Haydonite Hegemony," Dejan said in a cold hard voice.

"W-Why d-did you come here? W-Why d-did you a-attack us?"

"We are here because you are users of Protoculture and you sent ships to attack us."

Kinsey was confused, "A-Attack? A-Attack you? I-I have never heard of or seen you or your species before you arrived here!"

"You deny that you sent a ship called the Arcadia with accompanying ships to our space…"

 _Oh sweet Jesus! What did those idiot bastards Coulson and Coleiro do?_ Kinsey thought furiously as he started to put the pieces together.

"W-We did send those ships, but they were only to explore and establish contacts with any other races that they encountered," Kinsey explained desperately.

"We do not believe you! You sent forces to foment insurrection and rebellion among the worlds of the Hegemony! Where is your Protoculture matrix!? Where are the rest of your ships!?" Dejan demanded in a harsh voice.

Kinsey was thoroughly confused as he had no idea what a Protoculture matrix was. He knew what Protoculture was from the briefings he'd received back when the Arcadia had first arrived, "I-I think there's been a big misunderstanding here," he said as he proceeded to tell the Haydonites everything he knew about the Arcadia and how the ship and its crew had arrived here from an alternate universe. When he finished, he could feel the sweat rolling down his back. He felt off-balance and out of sorts as he couldn't read the aliens' faces. All he could see was the glowing red eye beneath their hoods which unsettled him. He waited a long time as the only sounds in the room were his heavy breathing and the hum of the equipment.

Finally the holographic image of Dejan spoke, "The Awareness has heard what you have said and the information would tend to corroborate with the data we have and would explain a great many things…"

"So this was all a misunderstanding…we haven't seen or heard from the Arcadia or any of the other ships in five years. Maybe we can negotiate some sort of settlement or come to some sort of accommodation that would be…uh…beneficial to both of us," Kinsey said using a deferential tone while bowing his head.

Dejan's voice took on an angry almost hateful sounding tone as he spoke, "Your species is guilty of crimes against the Hegemony! You will pay for those crimes! Your planet and species will serve the Haydonites!"

 **oOoOo**

Faith kept gazing out of the passenger window of Andy's truck as it drove down the dark road. She kept trying to see if she could see any of the alien ships in the night sky. She thought she could see objects that appeared brighter than stars moving high in the sky, but she wasn't sure. She finally gave up, sitting back in the seat as the truck continued on.

"I don't think this is a good idea," she said finally voicing her concerns and doubts.

"Celia just got back with our parents and I need to check in on them and take these supplies over to them. Plus with the State of Emergency in effect, you're not going to be travelling anywhere very far without attracting unwanted attention," Andy replied.

"I know," she said with a sigh gazing back out the side window again, "But maybe I should have stayed at your house. I don't want to cause any more problems between you and your sister,"

"You're with me and she'll just have to deal with it," Andy said with a big smile, reaching over and putting his arm around her to pull her closer.

Faith at first resisted him, but a smirk finally formed on her face and she moved closer to him as he drove. They were both quiet for a long moment as they cuddled as Andy drove. Faith then got an evil twinkle in her eye, "Maybe if I sleep with your sister, she'll like me as much as you do?" she said trying to keep a straight face.

Andy had to fight to keep the truck on the road as he choked while Faith had a good laugh at his expense.

 **oOoOo**

Faith could feel the icy chill as she entered Celia's house. She had tried to make herself useful by carrying in the extra supplies of food, water and batteries with Andy, but seeing the look on his sister's face just reaffirmed her earlier doubts and reservations as she carried them through to the kitchen. As she set down the supplies, she could easily hear the murmuring between Andy and his sister coming from the living room.

"You brought her to my house!"

"Can't you just let it go for one night, Celia! Everything is going to hell in a hand basket and you're harping over Faith! I think she's the least of our problems!"

"Andres, that woman is a no good—"

"Damn it! I love her!" Andy said in a slightly louder and angrier voice.

Faith sucked in deeply at hearing Andy's declaration and a brief moment of panic hit her in a way that she hadn't felt in a long time. She'd known that he'd cared for her, she just hadn't realized how much he did until now. She suddenly realized that she liked Andy…liked him a lot more than she wanted to admit out loud to.

 _It's time to let go… It's time to move on… But what the hell does that mean?_ _It's not like I have a future_ , she thought as she tried to come to grips with what Andy had said and her own feelings.

Any further thoughts were interrupted as she heard Andy's voice calling, "Faith! Get in here!"

She rushed into the living room, ignoring the looks from Celia and her parents as her attention went straight to the TV. It was no longer showing local news, she immediately recognized the person speaking and where he was speaking from.

 _"Tonight I not only address my fellow Americans, but everyone on the planet. Our planet has been attacked by an alien species that calls themselves the Haydonites. The armada in orbit is a representative of what is called the Haydonite Hegemony. Our brave and valiant men and women in the armed forces have tried to repel this attack, but these aliens are much more technologically advanced than us. We have suffered grievous casualties in our attempts to defend our home. Our space fleet has all but been destroyed. China attempted a counter-attack using land-based nuclear missiles…the attack failed and they suffered tens of millions dead in retaliation. We have suffered enormous casualties as well… Pearl Harbor… Honolulu… The entire Hawaiian island of Oahu with its civilian population along with a major portion of our forces stationed in the Pacific has been destroyed…"_

Everyone in the room gasped as the news sank in. To Faith it felt like the White House attack and Boston all over again as it seemed unreal. She studied Kinsey's face and could see the weight he was carrying along with the fear he was trying to control. He kept speaking.

 _"As a result of these losses, I can see no point with continuing on any futile resistance against these invaders. To save this planet and our species…"_ he paused for a second as it seemed as he needed to gather his strength to say what he needed to say, _"I've have ordered all our armed forces to stand down and return to their bases… I have negotiated the complete and unconditional surrender of the United States of America to the Haydonite Hegemony. I have been in contact with our allies and other major powers to inform them of our intent to surrender to spare our citizens from further destruction and recommend that they follow suit… The leader of the Haydonite fleet will address you next. I ask that everyone remain calm and stay where they are… We will have to endure more than our country has ever had to endure, but we…the human race will continue on… God bless you all and God bless the United States of America…"_

The room was in stunned silence, watching as the image of the President was replaced by static and then just as quickly a new image filled the screen. Emotions ranging from anger, disbelief and fear filled the room as they saw a hooded cloak figure with one glowing red eye now appear on the TV. There was a long moment of silence, before the alien spoke.

 _"I am Prelate Dejan, commander of the 12th Grand Fleet of the Haydonite Hegemony and designated Overseer of this planet… Your planet and species has been found guilty of the crimes of fomenting insurrection and rebellion among the races of the Hegemony by the humans of the Arcadia expedition that you sent to our area of the galaxy…"_

Faith gasped at hearing the word — Arcadia. She felt her heart beating faster as she slowly moved closer, as if in a dream, to the TV as the alien continued speaking.

 _"Your planet and species will now serve us! Your local governments will continue to exist for now and will now answer to us. They will help administer and maintain control over you and will also be our conduit to enforce our will…"_

Faith wanted to reach through the TV to shake the alien, fighting the urge to scream at the TV as she wanted to hear more about the Arcadia and Paul.

 _"Your existence and lives as you knew them has ended… Obedience and servitude will be rewarded. Any resistance or opposition is useless and will be crushed without mercy… You will find that if you try to resist, you will only face the same fate as all your people in the so-called Arcadia Expedition have already received for their crimes against us… You will only achieve death…"_

 **oOoOo**

Her eyes were filled with tears as the alien's words still rung in her ears as she ran out of Celia's house into the night. For a long time, she had rationally accepted that Paul and the others were dead, but there had always been a little corner of her heart and brain that had never given up hope…now those last vestiges of desperate hope were crushed in one brief moment. She could feel the tears running down her face as she looked up into the night sky. She could feel the universe mocking her as she felt that last small part of her finally die. She didn't turn as she heard a voice behind her.

"Faith? You okay?"

She hadn't been aware that Andy had chased after her until he spoke.

"Faith?" he asked again moving cautiously closer.

"He promised he would come back to me…" she muttered grasping on to her jade pendant, staring up at the stars.

It took Andy a moment to put it together and he realized that the guy she was still hung up on had been a part of the expedition that the aliens had just informed the world they had killed. He felt Faith's pain as he saw her standing there, he would do anything to make her happy and take her pain away. He felt a stab of guilt as he pushed away the small relieved voice in the back of his head that was telling him that any competition for her was now gone.

"I'm sorry…" he said honestly in a quiet voice.

She ignored him as she kept muttering to herself, "I knew that this would happen… Everyone I love dies… I'm alone like I've always been."

Andy felt a wave of anger as he heard her, "You're not alone, Faith!" he said, moving closer and putting his arms on her, slowly turning her to face him.

"You're not alone… I'm here," he repeated again in a soft voice, touching her face gently looking into her tear-filled eyes.

"No… Don't… Don't say it," she said in a pleading voice as she knew what he was going to say.

"I love you Faith…and I know that despite how much you try and not to say or show it, you love me too," he said still using that soft tone.

"I-I c-can't…" she said feeling confused as she felt herself starting to sob again.

"I know you're hurting, but you got to know that you're not alone. I'm here and I'm not going anywhere," Andy said giving her a small smile as he hugged Faith tightly against him, feeling her body heave from the sobbing.

 **oOoOo**

"Prelate, landing operations have begun at the designated spots."

"Any problems?" Dejan asked.

"Just some minor local resistance…nothing major and it was easily crushed by our Reavers. We made sure that some humans survived to spread word of the futility of further resistance."

"Good… How long before we can get the processing facilities operational?"

"We have the pre-fabricated units ready for landing…we should be up and running within four local days. We should be able to start processing organics to meet our needs several days after that, Prelate."

"Excellent…utilize whatever organics you need as a workforce to get everything operational, they are disposable. Also ensure that all mecha and ground forces are deployed to provide security for those facilities and our ground bases. If some of these humans are even somewhat like the humans we have fought, when they realize what we are doing they will take up arms against us. We must be prepared to crush any resistance," Dejan ordered.

"Yes, Prelate…" the other Haydonite replied with an almost hesitation in his voice.

Dejan heard the hesitation in the other Haydonite's voice, "You have a question?"

"Prelate, how will we find her? What will happen if they find out the truth?"

Dejan's eye started glowing angrily, "We will use whatever methods are needed to locate her. As the Awareness has foreseen, by finding her and what we do to her and his people, we will make certain that he suffers for what he has done to us! That human…Kinsey. I have seen his type before…he will do anything to keep himself in a position of power and authority. I am sure that if we offer some incentives, he would gladly sellout his own species to assist us. He will cooperate and do what we ask to keep himself where he is."

The Prelate paused to consider the second question. He then spoke, "In regards to the truth…it is important that we demoralize and destroy any hope that these humans have to help with our occupation. If they knew the truth, they would have resisted longer in the hopes that help would come. The Awareness has foreseen that with this operation, we may still yet save our home world as they do not have the necessary forces to keep their offensive going through our core systems and attack our fleet here. Now that we hold the human home world, if those organics and their so-called Alliance do attempt to retake this world…we will burn it and everyone on it."


	7. Reunion

**CHAPTER SEVEN:**

 **Reunion**

" _…The worlds occupied by the Hegemony were ripe for rebellion, especially Tirol. The Tirolians could still recall how they had been spreading into the stars, before the Haydonites had ruthlessly crushed and destroyed their colonies and fleets, finally conquering and occupying Tirol. Rather than give up hope and submit completely to their occupiers, they spent literally generations gathering information and intelligence about their enemy, studying and preparing for the day they could rise up in rebellion. They had even managed to establish a rudimentary underground communication system with the other species under Haydonite rule to share information and co-ordinate plans, but all this was useless in the face against the mecha and space fleets that the Hegemony had in place. It seemed that the Tirolians and others would languish forever under Haydonite domination. This was the situation that the Arcadia and her group found themselves encountering when they arrived in the Tirol system. It was during those crucial first moments when both the human and Haydonite fleets were trying to determine who the other was that the Invid Carrier commander Tashe raised the alarm to the threat posed by the Haydonites. The REF vessels didn't hesitate or waste any time in opening fire and launching their Veritechs to take on the ships garrisoning the system. It was as if the arrival of the Arcadia had lit a match and flung it into a pool of gasoline. As the REF fought and destroyed the Haydonite ships in orbit, the Tirolians rose up quickly implementing plans drawn up long ago and bringing out long hidden weapons. The Tirolians suffered major casualties but overwhelmed and destroyed the planet garrison (with assistance from the REF in the later stages). It didn't take long for both sides to establish contact and prepare for the expected counter-attack…_ "

— excerpt from _"A Galaxy at War: The Haydonite-Alliance War"_

 **oOoOo**

It was all just flashes… She remembered the desperation as the Captain ordered the fold… She remembered looking at the computer console and seeing the word…Tirol and then everything going white and feeling nothing. She recalled just becoming aware of her surroundings… She was the only one still standing as everyone had collapsed. She started to call out for Sam when the console in front of her exploded in a huge geyser of sparks and flames. After that all her memories became even more disjointed…she heard voices…speaking English and in other languages she couldn't even recognized. She saw a blur of faces. She thought she saw a giant bear and a giant fox carrying weapons and wearing body armor talking to each other. Before everything finally went black, she caught a glimpse of a human-looking face looking her over…

 _She could almost smell the ocean as the sound of the sea felt soothing. She rolled over in bed taking in the sunlit bedroom looking at the pile of clothes lying on the floor beside the bed. She suddenly was aware that she was naked, but she couldn't remember how she got here. She looked around again and she suddenly remembered where she was. Just before Kennedy had left with the Arcadia, they had taken a trip to Mexico together, staying at a quiet beach-side resort. It had been the best five days of her life as Kennedy and her had spent the days walking the beach or swimming in the ocean, followed by quiet romantic dinners and following up with passionate lovemaking that seemed to last for hours. She recalled this exact moment as this was the morning of the last day, they would be returning home that evening and Kennedy would be going back to the Arcadia to rejoin her squadron for training. She recalled the happiness and sadness she'd felt as they had spent the day in bed just holding each other not knowing what the future would bring. She was surprised as she heard the sound of feet on a bare floor coming closer. She tensed up not knowing what to expect, her eyes went wide as she instantly recognized the person coming into the bedroom only wearing a t-shirt and carrying two glasses of orange juice._

 _"Morning sleepyhead…thought you could use this."_

 _"K-Kennedy? I-Is that you?"_

 _The other woman looked at her strangely and then laughed, "It was the last time I looked in the mirror."_

 _"W-What? W-What's going on?"_

 _The other woman's face changed quickly to a concerned look as she put down the glasses and came closer to sit on the bed beside her, "Willow, you okay? Is something wrong?"_

 _Willow shook her head, "I-I don't know? This? All this?" she looked at Kennedy again and felt the wave of pain and loss grab at her, "Kennedy… I've missed you so much. Is this a dream? I don't care! I just want to be with you again. I don't want you to leave again!"_

 _"I'm right here with you… I've always been with you. You just need to do one thing now."_

 _Willow looked at her confused, "W-What? What do I need to do?" she asked._

 _"You just have to open your eyes and wake up, Red…"_

 **oOoOo**

Willow struggled to open her eyes, as they focused she could make out that it looked like she was in a hospital room or something similar. It reminded her of the Arcadia's sickbay from the colors and the feel of it. As she became more aware of her surroundings and her senses returned, she realized that she wasn't alone in the room. Her eyes shifted as her head and neck still felt stiff and sore. She saw that someone was sitting in a chair with their feet propped up and they were snoring quietly. Willow struggled to focus on the person and it took her a moment as she didn't immediately recognize them because of her short haircut and that it had been years since she'd last seen her.

"K-Kennedy…" Willow managed to say in a low hoarse voice.

Kennedy's eyes immediately shot open and she was alert and moving towards the bed in a flash, "Jesus Red! You gave me a scare! I didn't think you were ever going to wake up!" she said as she kneeled beside the bed, stroking Willow's hair gently.

Willow was feeling confused and unsure if this was real, but she could feel Kennedy's touch and she started becoming more conscious and aware. She saw Kennedy's blood-shot red eyes and could feel her warm breath.

"W-Where? H-How?" Willow croaked.

Kennedy grabbed for a glass of water and held it as the other woman took a drink from it through a straw, "I don't know how you managed to pull it off and that you and everyone else on the Valley Forge managed to survive that fold was nothing less than a miracle… You've got engineers still scratching their heads over that jump," she said smiling with tears forming in her eyes.

"W-Where? Where are we?" Willow asked getting more of her voice back.

Kennedy leaned in, kissing Willow gently on the forehead, letting her lips linger to feel the warmth as this all felt like a dream to her, "Tirol, my sweet wiccan. You made it to Tirol."

 **oOoOo**

Samantha and Captain Lynch were getting to see the sights after getting cleared by the medical staff. They were currently passengers in an all-terrain jeep-like vehicle being driven around a massive base that was on the outskirts of a massive alien city. They watched in awe as waves of shuttles, fighters and other spacecraft passed over head as they drove past other vehicles and troops training.

They had been among the first ones to regain consciousness after the Valley Forge's emergency space fold. They were surprised to be greeted by a mix of humans and what were definitely aliens that had boarded the drifting spaceship that had suddenly appeared out of nowhere in the Tirolian system. There had been a moment of concern on their part that they had failed to escape and had been captured by the attacking enemy fleet. It didn't take long for them to be convinced that they had made a space-fold to the other side of the galaxy and had actually made contact with the Arcadia Expedition.

Upon learning that news, they had immediately released a barrage of questions, which were met with the response that they would be able to get their answers during their debriefing. Samantha had asked about General Coulson and was relieved to hear that he was still alive and that he was being contacted to inform him about the situation. Until the General arrived, they had nothing to do but wait. Samantha spent a lot of time checking in on Willow as she was still unconscious as a result of the engineering console exploding beside her. She had been concerned, but had been quickly reassured that Willow would make a full recovery. She'd also had to deal with some personal matters as she'd run into Kennedy, who happened to be on Tirol at the same time as their arrival. That had been a tense and awkward encounter for her, but to her relief it had ended amicably. Captain Lynch had spent the time checking in on his crew, bringing them up to speed on their situation.

As they were being driven around, they both admitted to each other that they were each still having a hard time believing that all this was real as the "person" assigned as their escort that was driving them and conducting the tour was a human-looking alien speaking perfect English and wearing an REF-styled uniform.

"So you're a Marine, Lieutenant Na-Na… Nam…" Samantha said trying to remember the young Tirolian officer's name.

"Namol and yes, ma'am I'm a Marine," the young man said with a polite smile as he kept his eyes on the road.

"Sorry," she said somewhat embarrassed.

"It's okay, ma'am. I still have problems with some of the human names, especially those Russian ones," Namol replied still smiling.

"How long have you been a Marine, Lieutenant?" Captain Lynch asked.

Namol immediately switched modes when he was addressed by the Captain, "Almost four years, sir! Proud to serve with the 1/5 of the 6th Marine Division for most of that time until I got assigned to duties in Alliance HQ, sir!"

Samantha had to fight to keep herself from laughing as she leaned in and whispered to Lynch, "He would fit right in at Pendleton or Quantico."

Lynch smiled while nodding in agreement with her observation, "So where are we headed to today?" he asked.

"Sir, I received word that the Arcadia's Battle Group has just jumped into the system. They were already scheduled to come back here for a rest and refit, but once General Coulson was notified of your arrival, he returned as soon as he could. He will be shuttling down to Alliance HQ, he wants to meet with you there… We have some time, so I thought we could take the scenic route, so you could see the Veritech training base… It's pretty impressive even if they are Navy," Namol said with a slight smirk on his face.

Samantha couldn't help herself this time as she laughed out loud as Lynch shook his head, wondering if it hadn't been a mistake to send Marines with the Arcadia and spread their mindset across the galaxy.

"Is Captain Coleiro with General Coulson?" Lynch asked.

Namol got a confused look on his face, "Captain Coleiro? Sorry, sir but I think you must be referring to Admiral Coleiro and no, he's not with General Coulson. The Admiral is currently with the 1st Fleet mopping up Haydonite forces in the Leonis Prime system," he said with a little bit of pride and awe in his voice as he spoke.

Samantha and Lynch looked at each other with raised eyebrows in surprise at the Lieutenant's response and tone as they sat back and took in the sights of their tour.

 **oOoOo**

"Are you sure you're up for this?" Kennedy asked with concern in her voice and on her face.

"Yeah, I need to be there when they brief the General. He needs to know everything that has gone on for the last five years," Willow replied as she got dressed slowly still feeling some pain and stiffness.

"I still can't believe how bad it is back home," Kennedy said shaking her head as she tried to digest the just the major highlights that Willow had told her, "I mean, we knew that something had happened because…"

"Because of what?" Willow asked.

"Well…we figured that something major must have happened back at home, because me and all the other Potentials here are now Slayers."

Willow looked at her in disbelief, "My Goddess, I didn't even think that the Slayer activation spell would reach this far!"

"Well it did and ta da, I'm now a Slayer as well as a fighter pilot," she said with a smirk as she helped her stand up.

Willow shook her head still not believing where she was and what was going on. It still felt like a dream to her, but feeling Kennedy's hands touching her, she didn't care if she was awake or still unconscious, "I'm still trying to get a handle on all this and what's going on. Why didn't any of you ever come back? We waited and prayed for all…any of you to return," she said in a frustrated voice.

Kennedy sighed, "That's way above my pay-grade. I'm just a lowly First Lieutenant and my world is focused around my flight section and squadron."

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to take it out on you," Willow said taking Kennedy's hand in hers and feeling happy in a way she hadn't in years.

"No…you have every right to ask the question. It's just that is…um…a touchy subject with some people," Kennedy said getting an uncomfortable look on her face.

Willow was still feeling confused by what Kennedy was telling her, "I'm still trying to figure out why you never came home or even tried to send word to us?"

Again Kennedy looked uncomfortable with the question, "I think that General Coulson would be a better person to explain it all."

Kennedy tried to change the topic, "With the Arcadia back in system, you'll get a chance to see Dawn and Xander… They're probably bouncing off the bulkheads to see you once they got word," she said with a smile.

Willow's face lit up, "Dawnie and Xander! It will be great to see them! How are they doing?" she asked excitedly.

"Kennedy tried not to laugh, but the other woman's excitement was infectious, "Last I heard they were fine… We'll try and catch up with them after the meeting," she said with a big smile.

"I still can't believe you're here," Willow said as they left the hospital room and made their way down the corridor.

"It's just luck that my squadron was back on Tirol for some rest and refitting. Normally we're with the 1st Fleet on the Admiral's flagship, but we're getting ready for a big push and they need their best ready for that," Kennedy said with a grin.

"I still can't believe that Captain Coleiro is now Admiral Coleiro," Willow said shaking her head.

"Well…there has been a lot of changes over the years and with the size of fleet that the Alliance now has and his experience…it was due."

"Still…Faith would be doing handstands if she knew that he was alive," Willow said excitedly.

Kennedy's expression took on a somber look, "Will…it has been a long hard war against the Haydonites. He's changed… Everyone has changed," she said quietly.

Willow nodded, "I understand that… I've changed too," she paused as she found it difficult to tell Kennedy about her relationship with Samantha, "I-I want to tell you… I-I was—"

"You want to tell me about you and Samantha," Kennedy said with a smirk.

"H-How d-did you know?" Willow replied in shock and surprise.

Kennedy shrugged, "She stopped by a number of times while you were unconscious. I saw the look on her face and put two and two together…"

Willow stopped causing Kennedy to stop and turn around to look at her, "I'm so sorry… I-I didn't want you to find out that way… I-I wanted to tell you…"

Moving back towards her, Kennedy took Willow's hand in hers, "You don't have to apologize for anything… Samantha and I had a good long talk… It's okay…we're good," she said softly with a small smile.

Willow found herself exhaling a deep sigh in relief as the smile returned to her face. She grabbed Kennedy, hugging her tightly. Willow moved her head to look into Kennedy's eyes and then kissed her. She sighed as she felt Kennedy return the kiss with the same intensity. After what felt like a long time they pulled apart, each woman smiling at each other.

"I missed that," Willow said as she took Kennedy's hand in hers and they started walking again. The other woman smiled, nodding in agreement.

A thought struck Willow, "Oh! If Dawn and Xander are coming down from the Arcadia will Anya be with them as well? It would be good to see her to!" she said feeling literally the happiest she had in years.

She was caught off guard as she saw the expression on Kennedy's face change from one of happiness to a neutral one which sent an unexpected chill down her spine, "No… Anya won't be with them," Kennedy said in a voice devoid of emotion.

 **oOoOo**

Willow, Samantha and Captain Lynch stood as General Coulson entered the briefing room. Even with the exposure they'd had so far, they were still surprised to see the General followed in by two bipedal creatures, which were definitely not human. There were raised eyebrows between them as they saw a man-sized fox-like looking creature wearing a breathing mask and another creature that looked as if he was made of stone or crystal.

"Please be seated, everyone," Coulson said as he waved his hand and took his seat at the conference table across from the others. He quickly noted the looks of surprise on the new arrivals' faces as he could easily recall his first time when he'd meet aliens, "I want to quickly introduce my aides… This is my Chief-of-Staff, Captain Tami of Garuda," he said gesturing towards the fox-like looking person, "And this is Commander Savino of Spheris, he is my Intelligence Officer."

Both officers nodded towards the new arrivals as they took their seats beside the General. Coulson studied the faces on the other side of the table from him. He'd only received a brief report summary of their arrival and the current situation on Earth. He was going to use this meeting to get more detailed information before he decided what he was going to do.

"I had hoped that we could be having this reunion under happier circumstances, but we deal with the hand we're dealt," Coulson said looking at Samantha, Willow and Captain Lynch sitting across the table from him, "I've only had a chance to just look at the report highlights. I want to hear from each of your own mouths about the current situation on Earth. Samantha…Willow, you can start first to bring me up to speed on the situation planet-side and what's been going on there for the last five years. Captain Lynch can then brief me about the Haydonite invasion and battle."

Samantha nodded as she started her report…

 **oOoOo**

Coulson was having a hard time keeping his emotions in control as he listened to the reports from Samantha and Willow. He had expected bad news, but nothing like he was hearing.

 _The White House attacked! The President and SECDEF dead! Boston blown up and that bastard Kinsey President!_

He could hear the desperation, frustration and pain in both women's voices as they outlined what they'd had to endure over the last few years and the losses that had been incurred. Samantha explained that they had been on the Valley Forge as part of a last ditch mission to seize control of the space fleet and force Kinsey from power. It was an outlandish attempt and there wasn't any assurance of success, but that was how desperate the situation had become for them.

"And both of you were aboard when the Haydonite fleet arrived?" Coulson asked.

"Yes, sir." Samantha and Willow both said simultaneously.

Couslon turned to Lynch, "It's your turn now, Captain," he said with a nod.

"Yes, sir," Lynch said as he started recounting the events leading up to the arrival and battle with the Haydonites. Coulson tried to hold back his shock at hearing that two of the cruisers had apparently been manned by vampires. When Lynch finished his report, it was the stone-looking man, Commander Savino that spoke first.

"General, we have downloaded and reviewed the sensor data from the Valley Forge. Considering the size of force that the Valley Forge and the rest of her group was facing and that their ship-class hadn't been upgraded, it is a minor miracle that Captain Lynch or any of the others survived. He should be commended for his actions and handling of his ship and force," Savino said nodding towards Lynch.

"There you go Captain, you just got your first battle commendation," Coulson said smiling for the first time since the meeting started.

"T-Thank you, sir? About my ship and my crew?" Lynch asked feeling a little surprised and shocked by the turn of events.

Savino spoke to answer the question, "Your crew is going through the standard debriefing process by Alliance Intelligence after they've been cleared by medical staff. Captain Tami is better positioned to answer your questions about your ship."

"Thank you, Commander," Tami said nodding to the Spherisian, her voice surprisingly coming through the breathing mask clearly. The fox-looking creature pulled out a tablet and started swiping at the screen to bring up information, "The Valley Forge suffered extensive damage from the battle and the space fold it conducted. The main particle turret was completely destroyed and along with damage to the hull and power systems, the main Reflex furnace will have to be rebuilt..."

Lynch couldn't help himself as he let out an audible sigh at hearing how much damage his ship had suffered.

Tami heard the human Captain, luckily her experience of working with humans these last few years allowed her to interpret his frustration which she could sympathize with all too well, "Captain, your ship is already in space dock and is priority for repairs and upgrades…"

"Upgrades?" Lynch asked curiously.

"Yes, with the new particle beam turret being installed, your ship is being retrofitted with a new power generator which will increase the beam energy output considerably. The range and firing capability will not be impacted…this will give you more firepower to burn through any Haydonite defensive shields," Tami said.

Lynch smiled, "Anything else?"

"Yes, we are doubling your missile launcher storage capacity. We are also adding Haydonite shield emitters and eight point defense turrets to give your ship added defensive capability. These additions will cost you just over half of your hanger capacity."

"I think I can live with the sacrifice," Lynch said as his smile got bigger at the thought of all the new additions his ship was getting. He found himself eager to try out the new weapons and systems, "How long for the repairs and upgrades?"

"We understand the urgency, so as I said we have put your ship as a priority. We are looking at ten to fourteen standard days for all repairs and upgrades to be completed," Tami replied.

"Damn, that's too long! We have to get back sooner! God knows what those bastards could do in two weeks!" Lynch replied.

"Sir?" Tami asked in a slightly confused voice.

Lynch and the others suddenly got a bad feeling. Samantha voiced the question looking at Coulson, "Sir, you are going to send a force to take back Earth? Aren't you?"

Coulson sighed as he knew that this question was going to be asked, "The retaking of Earth is currently not a priority," he saw the looks of shock and disbelief on the others' faces as he said it.

"N-Not a-a p-priority?" Willow said barely able to believe what she'd heard.

"The Haydonite attack on Earth and your arrival here couldn't have come at a most delicate time. This war has been going on for over four years for us humans. The other races in the Alliance have in some cases been occupied by the Haydonite Hegemony for hundreds of years. The first year of the war we were able to liberate Tirol, Optera and Carbonara and then we had to hang-on by our fingernails as the Haydonites threw everything at us… We were finally able to bring on-line our new classes of battleships and battle-fortresses expanding our fleet and armed forces immensely in the last two years. We've been slowly pushing the bastards back into their core worlds and liberating other worlds as well and incorporating them into our Alliance. We're going to win this war…we're projecting that at our current progress we should defeat the Hegemony in two to three years," Coulson answered in a firm voice.

"But, sir! Those Haydonites could be—" Samantha started to say.

"Agent Finn! I'm well aware of what the Haydonites are capable of as are Captain Tami and Commander Savino," Coulson said in a sharp voice.

Samantha closed her eyes, taking a deep breath to get herself under control. Coulson saw the look on her face and the others. He nodded to Commander Savino. The Spherisian took his cue, "From the Valley Forge's sensor data, we were able to identify some of the enemy ships and that they belong to the 12th Grand Fleet under the command of Prelate Dejan…everyone in the Alliance is well aware of what the Prelate is capable of."

"Is there nothing you can do to help Earth? Why didn't you come back and warn us about the threat?" Willow pleaded in a quiet voice.

Coulson took a deep breath. The first question was easy to answer compared to the second question. He found himself debating whether he should tell them why the Arcadia never returned home. He'd questioned and had doubts over the years about Paul's decision, but with the Alliance pushing back the Haydonites and victory starting to look possible he'd pushed away those questions and doubts until today where they came roaring back as he looked at the three people sitting across from him and had heard their stories.

 _We could have stopped Kinsey and all that from happening if we'd gone home_ , Coulson thought as memories of the old arguments and debates came back.

 _They need to know the truth… They deserve to know the truth_ , Coulson thought with a sigh.

"I will discuss the matter with Admiral Coleiro, but even with the size of our fleet we are working within constraints of our operational commitments to offensive operations, training, ships being repaired and refitted and protecting Alliance planets and bases…" Coulson paused for a second before answering the second question, "The reason we didn't return home or send word is complicated, but it was decided that it was in Earth's best interests to avoid potentially leading the enemy home…"

Samantha studied the General as he spoke as she picked up on the tension in his voice and found herself trying to read between the lines as he spoke to get to the real meat of the issue, "That doesn't make much sense, sir? When you started winning, you could have sent one ship back," she asked.

Coulson sighed again as he replayed the fateful decision in his mind again. During those desperate uncertain times it had made sense, but in retrospect it was now looking like a huge mistake and Earth would pay the price, "We couldn't send any ships back home, it wasn't a matter of numbers or availability. As a security precaution we deleted all references to Earth from our computers…all space co-ordinates related to Earth…all the space-fold co-ordinates that would get us home, so there was no way for us to send anyone home," he replied.


	8. One big happy

**WARNING: Contains Strong and Coarse Language...**

 **CHAPTER EIGHT:**

 **One big happy…**

"… _One of the greatest mysteries of the Haydonite-Alliance War was Captain Coleiro's decision not to return to Earth after the liberation of Optera {_ see section regarding First Battle of Optera _}. After the liberation of the planet, it is on record that Coleiro had two meetings with the Invid Regess. The first meeting is widely known as it is well documented and witnessed. Official records show that he {Coleiro} had for all intents and purposes decided to return to Earth to raise the alarm of the Haydonite threat and to prepare and mobilize Earth for the conflict. The second meeting with the Invid Regess occurred just before his planned departure date. There are no records or witnesses to this meeting as this was a private meeting only between the Regess and the Captain. It was shortly after that meeting that Captain Coleiro gave his famous (or infamous to some critics) speech to all assembled REF personnel, saying that rather than go home and potentially lead the enemy to Earth, that they had to stay and fight to help the other races to free themselves from Haydonite tyranny. What happened to change his mind is still unknown and the point of much conjecture as Coleiro has never publicly discussed it. Whatever occurred or was said in that second meeting may never be known, but it is well-documented that after that meeting Coleiro became more obsessive and fanatical about defeating the Hegemony at any cost…_ "

— excerpt from _"The History of Robotechnology and the Alliance"_

 **oOoOo**

Willow, Samantha and Captain Lynch left the conference room filled with mixed feelings. Some questions had been answered, but new ones had been raised. Then there was the issue about what to do about the Haydonite attack on Earth. That General Coulson said he would "discuss" the matter with Admiral Coleiro was cold comfort to the three of them. Lynch said his good-byes as he was going to check in with his crew and was then heading up to the orbital space docks to check on his ship.

After Lynch had left, Willow and Samantha found themselves alone in the corridor. There was an awkward moment of silence as the two women looked at each other. They had shared so much together over the years, but each of them knew that what they had was at an end. Samantha finally decided to end the awkwardness.

"Willow… I-I just wanted to say—" Samantha suddenly found that she couldn't say the words.

Willow saw the look on the other woman's face, moving closer she took Samantha's hand in hers and with her other hand gently caressed her face, "I know, Sam… Thank you… You're a good friend."

Samantha couldn't hold back any more, grabbing Willow towards her. She hugged Willow tightly to her body, remembering everything they had shared together, "Thank you for being there for me," she whispered into Willow's ear.

Both women were brought out of their moment by a loud female voice from down the corridor, "WILLOW!"

It only took Willow a moment to realize who it was as she broke away from Samantha, turning towards the voice, "DAWN!" She saw another person behind Dawn and it suddenly hit her who it was, "XANDER!" she shouted as her vision suddenly got blurry.

Samantha had a small smile on her face as she stepped aside as Willow moved quickly towards the others. She found herself hoping for a similar reunion with Riley once they were able to get back to Earth. Her smile started to fade, recalling the details from the meeting with General Coulson.

 _If we go back to Earth…_

Willow almost got tackled as Dawn rushed up and grabbed her up in a huge hug, "My God Willow! I…we thought we would never see you again!"

Willow hugged on to Dawn tightly, her face buried into the other woman's shoulder not wanting to let go as she was afraid that this was all a dream, "Hey, Will…" a male voice said causing her to raise her head.

Willow slowly raised her head, looking towards her oldest and best friend. The tears were running freely now as she slowly broke away from Dawn, moving towards Xander to hug him.

 **oOoOo**

They had finally managed to get through all the emotional greetings and they stood in the corridor trying to find the words to say to each other. Willow introduced Samantha to her friends.

"Kennedy told us you were up here getting debriefed by the General, We decided we couldn't wait any longer… Kennedy would have been here, but she got wrapped up with work," Xander said trying to look casual about the whole situation.

Willow studied her friend and could immediately see that he had changed. He didn't have an eye patch any more, she recalled that there had been talk of him getting an artificial eye but it still surprised her a little to see him no longer wearing an eye patch. If it had just been that, she wouldn't have given it any further thought, but there was so much more. He looked…older and more serious. She'd have expected him to say something sarcastic or make a joke, but he hadn't done either which felt strange. She suddenly had a bad feeling.

"Cassie? Where's Cassie?" she asked worriedly.

"She's fine… She's going to meet us here. She had to make a stop first," he said with a small smile.

"Are you guys…?" Willow asked.

Xander snorted at his friend's attempts to dance around delicate subjects, "Yes…Cassie and I are still together."

Willow turned towards Dawn, "Aaron? How's Aaron?" she asked.

Dawn got a huge smile, "He's fine… He's still on the Arcadia…and yes, we're still together," she said beaming.

"Might as well show her," Xander said.

"Show me what?" Willow asked in a confused voice. She was caught off-guard as Dawn held out her hand. It took Willow a moment to realize what she was looking at and what the ring on the hand meant.

"OMG! Dawn, you and Aaron!"

"He proposed a couple of months ago," Dawn said excitedly.

"When? When are you guys getting married?" Willow asked not believing how much things had changed.

"We've decided to hold off until the war is over… We want to get married back on Earth. How's Buffy?" Dawn asked as her face took on a concerned look.

Willow let out a sigh as she debated about how much she should tell the others. She quickly brushed aside any reservations looking at Dawn and Xander as they deserved to know the truth.

"Your sister, Giles, Riley, Faith and a few others you know are still alive…" Willow started to say.

Xander and Dawn's faces both took on more serious looks as they didn't like how Willow had prefaced by saying "still alive".

"How bad is it back home, Will?" Xander asked in a quiet voice.

"It's pretty bad… The First tried opening the Hellmouth in Cleveland. We stopped it when I was able to activate all the Potentials and turn them into Slayers, but we lost Spike…he died closing the Hellmouth and sealing it."

Knowing how much Xander had hated Spike, she was surprised that he didn't gloat or do a dance of joy. All he said was, "How did Buffy take it?"

"It was hard on her…it came right after the government had declared all of you missing and presumed dead," Willow said sadly as she recalled that time.

"Who else?" Dawn asked in a tone that caught Willow by surprise.

"Things went downhill after that…" Willow said. She went on to explain about the attack on the White House by a Slayer that had been manipulated by The First, then Boston. She listed off all the names of everyone that had died fighting.

"Angel… Principal Wood… So many gone," Dawn said sadly having a hard time comprehending what had happened over the last five years. Dawn was going to say something else, but everyone's attention suddenly shifted as they saw Cassie come around the corner and made her way towards them. Willow's eyes went wide in surprise, not from seeing Cassie, but at whom was holding on to her hand and moving her tiny legs trying to keep up with her.

"X-Xander… I-Is s-she y-yours and…and—" Willow tried to say looking at the little girl walking beside Cassie.

Cassie joined the group, giving Willow a big hug. Xander bent down, scooping up the smiling little girl with long blonde hair up in his arms, holding her up to show Willow, "No, she isn't ours," he said with a snort, "Let me introduce you to Cassandra Bronowski," he said with a proud smile as he whispered in the little girl's ear. The little girl shook her head at first, but at Xander's urging she finally waved to Willow and Samantha.

Willow's eyes went even wider, "B-Bronowski?! You mean Anya a-and…h-had a-a…"

This time it was Cassie that answered, "Yeah, Anya and Lionel got married just before we arrived at Tirol. They both decided that they wanted to be together no matter what happened… It was a beautiful ceremony, considering it was aboard ship. The Captain…uh…Admiral performed the ceremony and Xander gave away the bride. Dawn and I were bridesmaids."

"So where's Anya?" Willow asked. As she asked the question, she saw the pained looks on her friends' faces and suddenly regretted asking the question.

"She and Lionel are both dead…" Xander said in a flat voice.

It took Willow a moment to overcome her shock at this news, "H-How?"

"Not here…let's go grab a coffee or something to drink. There's a cafeteria on the main floor," Xander said.

Willow nodded numbly as the others took the lead and headed down the corridor.

 **oOoOo**

Xander and Willow sat at one end of the cafeteria table as Cassie, Dawn and Samantha played with and entertained Cassandra at the other end. Willow studied Xander's face as he watched the young girl squeal and giggle from all the attention she was getting. She couldn't believe how much the little girl looked like Anya.

"What is she…two?" Willow asked with a sad smile.

"Almost two and a half," Xander replied with a smile. The smile quickly faded, "She was six months old when it happened. Anya was a med-tech…a pretty good one. She volunteered to go help setup a support base. Lionel was on the mission's security detail. It was supposed to be a milk run in a quiet sector. Hell, it wasn't even a military base it was going to be used as a hospital and for refugees…"

She saw his face harden as he continued the story, "A whole god-damned Haydonite task force dropped in on them…they didn't stand a chance," Xander paused as if he was steeling himself to relive a bad memory, "I saw the relief force's mission report…they found Lionel…he had gone down fighting. They counted thirty-five of those mother-fucking Reavers around his body..."

Willow wanted to ask what "Reavers" were, but she was shocked by Xander's language and the anger in his voice as he continued on.

"We'd thought that Anya and some of the others had been killed as well, just no remains… When we liberated Praxis, the people there told us that the Haydonites had captured about a half-dozen of our people and brought them there. They interrogated Anya and the rest for weeks…the Haydonites aren't subtle or nice with their methods. One of the Praxians being held in the same detention block was able to communicate with Anya and the rest. The Haydonites asked questions not only about our forces, but they were just as interested in our commanders. They wanted to know everything about them. I talked to the Praxian that Anya talked to…she fought to hold out, but they finally broke her…" Xander said looking back towards Cassandra. Willow could see the anger and pain in his good eye as he relived the memories.

"She was a good mom… I remember when she told me that she was pregnant. She called Cassandra 'that parasite growing inside her'. She was so scared, but by the end she kept referring to Cassandra as 'her parasite'," he said with a sad smile.

"When those bastards had gotten everything they could out of her and the others," Xander paused and Willow could see the tears well up in his real eye. Reaching out she grabbed his hand to lend him her strength. Xander took a deep breath as he gave Willow a small appreciative smile, "She must have known that the end was coming…somehow she managed to get a hold of something to write on… She wrote two letters and got the Praxian to hide them for her. One was to me asking if I would look after Cassandra for her and Lionel and tell her about them. The other was addressed to Cassandra... I'll give it to her when she's older and can understand it."

Willow's eyes were burning as she tried to deal with another person from their little group no longer with them.

"Does Cassandra stay with you and Cassie?" Willow asked trying to shake off the pain and shock.

"Can't have a kid running around on a cruiser in a combat zone," he said with a snort, "We found some good people here to watch her when Cassie and I are off planet. They treat her like one of their own and if something happened to Cassie and I…" Xander trailed off as he looked towards Cassie and Cassandra again.

"You know she's going to be taken care of," Willow said finishing his sentence.

"Yeah… But that's not going to happen… I'm going to be around till the end," he said as his anger came back.

Willow was taken aback by his anger. She could never remember him being so angry before, even when things were at their worst in Sunnydale, "Xander maybe you should—"

He cut her off as he knew what she was going to say, "Let it go! I'm not going to let it go! You have no idea what those sons of bitches did to Anya and the others…what they do to us organics! Those bastards are just as bad, hell maybe even worse than the vampires and demons we had to face back home! You want to know what they did to Anya… What they did to that little girl's mother?" he said looking at Cassandra. Willow nodded slowly.

"The Haydonites are a cybernetic life form… They were once a biological life form, but now they're more machine… Either way they require a fluid to interface and operate their machine parts and biological parts together. Unfortunately their bodies can't make this fluid, so they harvest other species to make this 'blood' for themselves…"

Willow couldn't believe what she was hearing as Xander continued on and his anger become more pronounced.

"Those mother-fuckers are no better than the vampires back home… When we crush their forces… I'm going to be there at the end… I'm going to kick back, pour myself a couple of drinks, smoke a cigar and fucking cheer as we burn their planet to a crisp cinder!" he said with angry smile on his face.

Willow was taken aback but his tone and anger as it didn't seem anything close to the Xander she remembered. She shook her head as he continued on.

"Hell the war would already be over if we'd gone back to Earth like his holier than thou Supreme Grand fricking Admiral Coleiro had originally planned to do!"

Willow was surprised to hear this news. She wanted to ask more questions, but Xander cut her off before she could ask, "Cassie and I need to get back to the Arcadia…we have to drop off Cassandra first. You can walk with us if you want," he said standing up from the table.

 **oOoOo**

Willow walked with the other women as she watched Xander walk and play with Cassandra. She was shocked by Anya's death, but she couldn't believe the amount of hate and anger that Xander was carrying around. Cassie could see her concern and unspoken question, "I know… he's not the same Xander I met nearly six years ago," she said with a voice tinged with sadness, "He's still in there, but this war has taken so much out of all of us."

"Is it true what he said? You guys were planning to come back home?" Willow asked.

Cassie sighed, "Yeah… After we took Optera and knew the extent of the Haydonite threat, the plan was to send the Arcadia home with information and designs for weapons and automated factories. The Admiral was going to mobilize the planet and start building weapons and organizing forces to bring back to help with the war. It was all set and we were all packed to go back home."

Samantha had been listening in to the conversation. She was curious about what was going on, "What happened to change everything?"

Cassie shrugged, "I have no idea… All I've heard is that the Admiral had some sort of last minute meeting with the Invid Regess… The next day he's assembling everyone and telling us that we're not going home. We're going to stay here and fight as the risk of leading the enemy home was too great… I guess that didn't work out so well," she said in a tired voice.

"Yeah, I guess it didn't," Samantha said thinking about what Coulson had told her and what she was hearing now.

"Your arrival isn't going to help the situation," Dawn said catching Willow and Samantha both by surprise.

"How's that?" Samantha asked.

"Up until now, everyone was resigned to the fact that to get home we had to win this war…no space-fold co-ordinates to use. Now that you're here, the Valley Forge will have those co-ordinates and word of the Haydonite invasion of Earth is spreading. A lot of people will be demanding to go home and fight to free Earth. A lot of tension and suppressed feelings are about to bubble up to the surface…it might get ugly," Dawn answered.

"She's right," Cassie said nodding her head, "Most people will stay to finish the job, but there's a good percentage of our people who are tired of this war and want to go home…even if it means having to fight another invasion fleet."

 **oOoOo**

"Fleet status, Captain?"

"Third fleet has arrived in system and is chasing down stragglers, we estimate less than seven enemy ships managed to escape out of the system. Initial fleet damage and casualty reports have been confirmed…we suffered fifteen percent losses in material and eight percent in personnel. The 7th Marine division reports that they have secured all their objectives on the planet…all resistance has been crushed."

"Casualties?"

"I have the numbers here, if you want to take a look, sir," Wright said holding out the tablet.

Admiral Paul Coleiro sighed as he took a moment to lean back in his chair as Captain Wright gave him the latest status update. He took a moment to glance around his spartan office on his flagship. It was at times like this that he wondered if he'd made the right decisions and choices. He had a pretty good idea on the numbers of dead and wounded the Marines had suffered taking the Haydonite base in this system. It would have been easier to just lay waste to the planet from orbit, once they'd defeated the enemy task force guarding this system, but they needed the planet below to use as a forward staging base for the next operation. That meant that they had to take the planet the hard way, "I'll look at them later, Captain. Thank you," he said in an emotionless tone.

"Any news from the Second fleet in the Beta Persei system?" Paul asked tiredly.

"Yes, sir. Rear-Admiral Ergan reports that they have secured the system, but they took heavy casualties," James reported.

This caught Paul by surprise, "Ergan? What happened to Admiral Pavonan?"

"Sir, Admiral Pavonan's flagship took heavy damage in the fighting…he's dead," James replied quietly.

Paul took another deep sigh as he thought of the Tirolian Admiral, who'd he known ever since the start of this war. He always had a standing invitation at Pavonan's house for dinner when they were ever together on Tirol. He always enjoyed those visits and the time spent around the Tirolian's family. He almost felt normal during those rare visits. It made him wish for things he knew that he could never have.

 _Another name to add to my list_ , Paul noted with depressing resignation.

"Sir? Sir, what are your orders?" James asked.

Paul snapped out of it, "Tell Admiral Ergan that we expect the 9th Grand Fleet to counter-attack her position. She's to hold that system until reinforced…"

"Yes, sir!"

"Contact the 4th Fleet and light a fire under Admiral Coshav, tell him to get his ass to Beta Persei to reinforce the 2nd ASAP. Understood?"

"Yes, sir! Anything else, sir?"

"Yes, James… Contact the 5th Fleet and send Admiral Baltan my compliments. Also tell her that 'Majestic' is now in effect."

Wright's eyes went wide as he hadn't expected this turn of events, "Sir! You sure you want to implement 'Operation Downfall'? Isn't it too early?"

Paul eyed the Captain. He appreciated his advice and counsel, but Paul also had access to insights that the Captain didn't have and wouldn't understand, "James, we've got those bastards on the run. This is not the time to let up on the pressure. If we do it right, we can get ourselves into position for an assault on Haydon IV earlier than planned…" he said with a small smile.

"Yes, sir. It's just that we haven't replaced our losses yet…the 2nd Fleet got mauled in their victory and we're already ahead of schedule for our offensive. I'm just concerned that we might overextend ourselves and get caught with our pants around our ankles...and not in a fun way," James said in a worried voice.

Paul chuckled at the Captain's choice of words, "Your concern is duly noted, Captain. Is there any update on the position and status of the 12th Grand Fleet?"

"Intel still has the 12th in position guarding Haydon IV…they haven't made any moves. Signal intercepts indicate that they aren't preparing to sortie," Wright said as he pulled up data on his tablet.

"Now that's what bothers me," Paul said.

"Sir?"

"You know as well as I do that we when we wargamed this operation out, that we expected the 12th to move either against us here in Leonis Prime or hook up with the 9th to try and take back Beta Persei," Paul said feeling like he was missing something.

"Yes, sir, but maybe they didn't want to risk the 12th? Maybe they thought that their insystem fleets here could stop us or maybe they're going to make a move against us somewhere else?" James replied, but he was starting to get the same worried feeling as the Admiral.

"The 12th is one of their few remaining offensive fleets left, commanded by one of their best…to leave them orbiting their homeworld, twiddling their thumbs while we push the initiative that's—"

"Worrisome, sir," James said with a grim look on his face.

"Yes, Captain. That is most worrisome…"

 **oOoOo**

Paul was still reviewing reports and updates long after he'd dismissed James. He was still bothered by the enemy's response or lack of response to this latest offensive. Sitting back he looked around his office, the only light on in the room was his desk light. He still got the occasional pain in his left eye as a result of his wounds that he'd received fighting the Invid around Earth years ago. He'd recovered about 75% of the vision in his eye, but he knew that was due more to his exposure to the Flower of Life than to anything that medical science had done for him.

He took a moment to relax himself and slow his breathing. Closing his eyes, he tried to clear his mind of the noise that kept him from seeing The Shapings. It had been years since he'd had a full vision, not since _that_ meeting with the Regess and made his decision that set him and everyone on this path. Even though he couldn't access full visions, he could still get flashes…premonitions of things happening or things that _may_ happen.

 _Winning this war and keeping her safe is all that matters…_

That was the thought that kept him going through the years and all losses that they had taken. His mind started drifting back to the vision that the Regess had shown him that had set him on this path.

 _I've already seen Earth burn once before…not again!_

He still had nightmares of that vision as his thoughts drifted back to that fateful meeting with the Regess. She had shown him what would happen if he'd returned to Earth like he'd planned to. He'd tried to look for a way out of that. He tried to bargain, reason, beg and plead with the Regess that because he knew now, he could make changes and avoid that future that was only filled with pain and death. He could still feel how her voice and thoughts had touched his mind. She had made it clear that it did not matter…that if he returned home then Faith would die.

She had shown him the path he needed to take and the price he would need to pay. She hadn't forced him, she had said that the choice was his. When he looked into the darkness and all he was shown was blackness and uncertainty with brief incomprehensible flashes of the future. He balked in the face of that uncertainty as The Shapings couldn't show him the future and it scared him to the core of his being. He didn't care about his life and he was ready to lay down his life for Faith, but the not knowing and that his only other choice was that she would die only clouded the decision he needed to make.

Between the two choices he was given, Paul did what he was good at…he found a third option. He knew that this was a compromise and the future was fraught with uncertainty because of this path. He'd seen how this path could potentially end…he saw Faith with another man and he would die in the final assault on Haydon IV. Between the other choices he was given — Faith dying or blackness — he could live with his Viking funeral as long as she stayed safe.

He could feel his mind and body, trying to reach out for The Shapings, to have them show him the future. His thoughts were suddenly interrupted as his communications console on his desk started beeping. Paul took a deep breath to push away his frustration and anger at being interrupted before he answered. He took one more relaxing breath, then pressed the talk button on his console.

"Coleiro, here."

"Sorry to disturb you, sir, but we have an urgent message coming in from General Coulson…he's on video display."

Paul was surprised to hear from Coulson. The Arcadia's battle group was conducting hit and run raids on Haydonite outposts to keep them off balance and gather intel. He felt a chill run down his back as he activated his video screen. It took moment before Coulson's familiar face appeared and Paul's first worried feeling grew.

"General, what can I do for you?"

"Admiral, there's been a development…"

Paul listened intently as Coulson reported all the information he'd gather from the debriefings and the Valley Forge's sensor logs. Paul tried to keep his emotions in check as he heard that the Haydonites had attacked Earth.

"It looks like we'll have to review our SIGINT and ELINT processes as we still show the 12th in orbit around Haydon IV," Paul said shaking his head slowly in frustration.

"Yes, sir. The move caught me by surprise as well."

"So what's your take on this move, General?" Paul asked trying to keep his anger and frustration in check.

"I don't know how they found Earth, but it appears that they are trying for a spoiling attack to get us to divert resources," Coulson replied.

"I concur, but they must know that we could just continue our advance into their core systems…"

Coulson looked at the image of Paul that was being beamed over light years, "Sir, you're not going to move to support Earth?"

"General you're very aware of our current availability of forces… The 2nd Fleet got hammered hard in their victory and I've given word to the 5th Fleet to proceed with 'Operation Downfall'," Paul said seeing Coulson's eyes go wide in surprise at this news.

"Sir, isn't it a little premature to be implementing 'Downfall'?"

"General, I've already looked at all the strategic implications and I consider the risks within acceptable limits."

"Yes, sir, but what about Earth? Are we going to do something to help them?" Coulson asked trying to keep his own growing frustrations in check.

"What do you want to do, General?"

"I need the 21st and 22nd reconnaissance flotillas to send into the system to give us more intel… I need more fleet units. I can build around my battle group to bring up to fleet size. The 6th Marine division is here on Tirol and we've got enough lift capability to move the whole division and supporting Destroids units to Earth in one fold."

"General… Phil… I understand what you're saying. I can't give you the 21st and 22nd as they're allocated to the 5th Fleet's operations. If I had any forces available I would divert them to retake Earth, but I need everything in place to hold on to what we've taken and keep the pressure on those bastards. If we give them a chance to rebuild their fleets, it will cost us more," Paul tried not to show his emotions, but he could feel himself being torn in all directions as he heard himself say the words.

"Sir, what about getting the ships used for planetary defense to be released for my use?"

Paul sighed, "Phil…now you're just grasping at straws. The largest class in those system fleets are battleships… You're in a heavy cruiser… You're going to be going against dreadnoughts for God's sake even with fighter support! Besides you know that those fleets aren't under my control…if you want them released you're going to have to ask the Alliance Council to release them to you."

"Sir, if I can get the Council to give me those ships and I put together a viable operations plan will you sign off on it and let me go back to Earth and hit those bastards hard?"

Paul shook his head slowly, but he knew that in the end they would have to do something.

 _Even if all they accomplish is damaging the Haydonite fleet and freezing them in place, it would make our job here easier…_

"Okay Phil… If you get Council approval to release the ships to you, you can go ahead with assembling and planning for your operation. Your force will be designated as 7th Fleet with you as commander."

"Yes, sir! Thank you, sir!" Coulson said as a tired smile started to stretch across his face.

"Don't get too far ahead of yourself, General," Paul said using a warning tone in his voice, "I want to see your operations plan and I want all data and intel that you have for my review… I also get final approval for your operation…understood?"

"Understood, sir!" Coulson said, ending the call.

 **oOoOo**

Leaning back in his chair, Coulson stared at his blank video display. Thoughts swirled in his head as he started to put together his plan for this operation. There was a lot to do and knowing how the Haydonites operated, he knew that the longer he delayed the more that Earth would suffer, but he couldn't just rush in there. He figured that he would first grab some sleep and then assemble his staff in the morning to look at what forces were available in the Tirol system and close by that he could request for his use. He knew that he would have to work on his request to the Alliance Council as that would be the make or break for this operation.

 _At least I have something positive to tell Samantha and the others_ , he thought as he stood up from his desk to move over to his couch to grab some sleep.

Laying on his couch, Coulson closed his eyes, trying to relax. His mind was a torrent of thoughts as he replayed the debriefing and what he'd been told about what had happened on Earth while they were away. As sleep finally grabbed at him, he was struck by one last thought…

 _I'm surprised he didn't ask for any news about Faith? I would have thought he would have at least asked if she was still alive…_


	9. We do what we must…

**CHAPTER NINE:**

 **We do what we must…**

" _…The Haydonites employed two types of PSI jammers to prevent the Invid Regess from being able to communicate with her 'children'. The largest and most powerful models were those deployed on Optera. Each jammer was a massive structure that had its own self-contained fusion reactor to power not only the jammer, but the defensive shielding that protected the structure. The Haydonites had deployed one hundred of these devices across the planet to blanket every square-centimeter of territory and provide overlapping coverage in the event of one of the jammers being down due to failure or maintenance. These jammers were so powerful and because of the Regess's proximity to them that they were able to block her telepathic connection to the hive-mind of the Invid on a galactic-wide scale. The other model of jammer was a more "portable" model which could be only installed on dreadnought-class warships due to the power requirements. Though the range of this jammer was much less (within a planetary system), they were still effective. These jammers impacted on the ability and effective use of Invid forces during the conflict and the only way that the portable jammers could be overcome (other than destruction) was to have the Regess physically in the system to exert all her telepathic power to overcome the jamming. This was not a feasible option due to the risk of losing the Regess in battle and the many number of fronts where the war was being conducted. The Alliance studied the jammers trying to devise a counter-measure with minimal success. There appeared to be no solution to overcoming the jamming until the Regess came up with her own counter-measure…_ "

— excerpt from _"Weapons of the Haydonite-Alliance War"_

 **oOoOo**

Captain Wright kept a worried eye on Admiral Coleiro as they reviewed the latest fleet reports. It may have not been obvious to the casual observer, but James had been the Admiral's Chief-of-Staff for almost two years now and he could see the finer details to note that his commander had probably been up all night working.

"Sir, the 4th Fleet reports they have entered the Beta Persei system and have linked up with the remnants of the 2nd Fleet…" James said as his eyes watched the Admiral.

"Status of the Haydonite fleet?"

"Those enemy ships that could fold began to retreat as the 4th entered the system…our forces are mopping up and clearing the system," James replied.

Paul shook his head tiredly. They had expected the counter-attack against the 2nd Fleet, but it had come sooner and more savagely than expected. They had managed to hold on, but it had been a near thing and it had been at a high cost. The number of ships left in the fleet would barely form a battle group. Paul had already ordered James to start the paperwork to have Admiral Ergan awarded the Alliance Cross…posthumously. He now had to consider his next moves in light of all the recent events.

James could see that the Admiral was thinking things over. He had one more message to deliver, "Sir, Captain W'zazulun reports that the 2nd Fleet still lives and is ready to fight…"

Paul closed his eyes for a moment as he felt a mix of pride and sadness. He knew that logical choice was to disband the fleet and integrate those ships able to continue fighting into the 4th Fleet. It was the logical choice, but that didn't make it the _right_ choice. He still found it surprising how quick all the other species in the Alliance had taken to a lot of the human military traditions as most of them had never had standing militaries of their own. Even those races, like the Tirolians, that used to have military forces before being conquered by the Haydonites had decided to adopt those traditions to make the integration of their forces easier.

After the liberation of Tirol, Paul knew that getting his people and the Tirolians to work and fight together would be of the highest importance to ensure their survival. As the other races were freed from the Haydonites, there was much appreciation and goodwill, but there was also a hesitation and fear that they had just exchanged one conqueror for a new one. His decision to share all their technology, with no limitations or conditions, had gone a long way to remove any lingering suspicions or doubts about their intentions. What had finally united all of them was how they saw the humans fight and sacrifice to free others not of their own species from the Haydonites. It didn't take long for the informal military alliance to evolve into something bigger with the desire for it to be more permanent. His and the other veteran REF personnel's experience dealing with the Local Group races in their universe had made negotiations for forming the Alliance easier and less painful than what the Sentinels had experienced.

Opening his eyes, Paul looked at James, "Send word to Captain W'zazulun…acknowledge that 2nd Fleet still lives. Tell him that he will take the 2nd back to the nearest fleet base for repairs and resupply. They will remain in reserve until we can provide reinforcements."

"Yes, sir," James paused for a second and Paul could see that his aide had something else to say.

"Speak your mind, Captain."

James took a deep breath, "Sir, should we continue the offensive in light of these losses and what's happening on Earth? I mean we've made significant gains and we can hold these gains while we turn back and take Earth back…"

Paul studied the other man's face. He knew that James had seen the reports forwarded by Coulson of what had been occurring on Earth during their absence. He saw James's eyes burning with a desire and eagerness that he felt burning in his blood, "You want to go home? To her?" he asked.

James was caught off guard by how easily the Admiral had read him, "Y-Yes, sir. You know what's been going on? We have to do something!"

"James…" Paul paused for a second, "There's not a day that doesn't go by that I don't think of Faith… I want to go home to her… God, I'm tired of this war and making the decisions that sends countless men and women to their deaths, but that's my job and whether you or anyone else believes it, everything I have done was to protect Earth from the Haydonites as they are the bigger threat…"

James could hear the tiredness in the Admiral's voice that was tinged with a pain and sadness, but he also knew that the situation had changed, "But that plan has failed…sir! We have to do something now!" he said more forcefully than he had planned to.

Paul sighed as he could sympathize with the Captain's feelings, _If it was only that easy_ , he thought as memories of the visions he'd been shown tormented his thoughts along with the responsibilities that he now had to carry.

"James…every decision I make has to not only take into account what happens to Earth, but every other planet in the Alliance and right now we have to keep the pressure on the enemy. If we let them build up their system and planetary defenses, we will bleed trying to punch through them. With one of their main fleets on the other side of the galaxy, we have an opportunity that we can exploit. Are you asking me to turn my back on all the suffering and sacrifices that our allies have made to end this war and be free?"

James sighed because though he hated to admit it, the Admiral had a point. From a purely strategic viewpoint, Earth was a sideshow compared to the struggle taking place here. He could have argued that the members of the Arcadia Expedition had suffered as well too, but then he'd seen the processing facilities that the Haydonites had placed on most of the planets and how the other races had suffered for literally generations. He knew that Earth would suffer under Haydonite occupation, but it would only be for a short period of time in comparison. He found himself looking at the "big picture" in a cold and calculating way and a part of him hated himself for it.

Paul watched the younger man's face and could see the conflict raging inside him. He could sympathize all too well. His options were limited in what he could do, but that didn't mean he didn't have _any_ options.

"Captain…"

"Yes, sir."

"I've been reviewing the fleet training schedules and the new deployments… The 27th Battlecruiser squadron is just finishing up its shakedown training. They were scheduled to join us in the next couple of weeks."

"Yes, sir."

"Taking into account the changing strategic situation and that we won't be facing the 12th Grand Fleet, I think we can forgo having them reinforce us…I think that they could be better utilized by the 7th Fleet, don't you agree?" Paul said with just the whisper of a small smile forming on his face.

It didn't take James long to pick up on what the Admiral was doing and a small smile formed on his face, "Yes, sir. I concur with your decision. I can expedite their transfer if you want?"

"Please see to it, Captain," Paul said.

 **oOoOo**

"Attention on deck!"

Willow was caught off-guard and responded slowly as everyone stood quickly as Captain Tami addressed the assembled group in the conference room as General Coulson came striding in.

"Please be seated, everyone." Coulson said waving to the group as he moved to the front of the room.

Again Willow was the last to sit down as she got caught looking around the room, feeling lost and out of place. She'd been surprised to have been invited to this meeting, but Samantha, who was sitting next to her, said that the General wanted them both there to be able to answer any questions about the situation on Earth and the Haydonite attack.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, I have several pieces of news… First of all, Admiral Coleiro has given his provisional approval to begin planning for the operation to take back Earth…"

Willow had to catch herself as she started to cheer out loud at this announcement. As her cheeks flushed with embarrassment, she could have sworn that she saw the start of a smile on the General's face.

"The Arcadia's battle group is to be designated as the 7th Fleet and the codename for this operation is 'Redemption'," Coulson saw the excited faces and heard the exclaims from the people assembled, "Okay, before we get too excited I found out that Admiral Coleiro has launched 'Operation Downfall'."

Willow felt completely at a loss and confused as the gathered officers started murmuring even more. She looked at Samantha and saw the same look on her face as she felt. She was tempted to put up her hand to ask what "Operation Downfall" was when General Coulson continued.

"For those of you new or unaware, 'Operation Downfall' is the codename for the final offensive against the Haydonite Hegemony's core planetary systems and homeworld… The overall operation is broken down into different phases. As of yesterday at 1430 galactic standard time, the 5th Fleet has begun its operations…codenamed 'Majestic' in the Tallus system."

Willow was surprised this time as cheering broke out among the officers. She found it interesting to study the different aliens in the room to see how they reacted. Some of the looks she saw sent chills down her spine as they took on a predator-like look. One of the officers that looked like a giant bear spoke up.

"Sir, how will this affect our operation?"

Coulson nodded, "Good question, Captain… This will impact us greatly as all reinforcements will be going in support of those operations…"

Willow could actually feel the letdown in the room as the General broke the news.

"…I did receive word from Admiral Coleiro this morning. He's managed to find us some ships to reinforce us with… He's given us Skull squadron along with the other fighter squadrons that are in reserve here on Tirol."

This started the murmuring up again as Coulson continued on, "The 27th Battlecruiser squadron is just undergoing shakedown trials. They were slated to join up with the 1st Fleet once finished, but the Admiral is transferring them to us. We'll be getting ten Shimakaze-class Battlecruisers and her escorts which added to our existing fleet will bring us up to nearly sixty ships."

"Sir? That's not going to be enough to launch a major operation against the 12th Grand Fleet and retake a planet!" another officer said out loud.

"I know," Coulson replied nodding in agreement with a grim look on his face, "Even with those ships and getting Skull along with the other fighter squadrons transferred over to us, it won't be enough… That's why I'm going to the Alliance Council and ask them to release the ships from the planetary system defense fleets to us."

It took a minute for this news to sink in and the shock to wear off, "Sir…those fleets contain mostly older classes of ship that are not as well-armed. They are a mix of destroyers, cruisers with a few Valivarre-class Battleships thrown in. Those fleets are mainly used in conjunction with planetary defense installations to hold off an attacking force until fleet reinforcements arrive," the bear-like alien said.

"I know, but we have no other options. If we get the ships, we will have to train hard to integrate them into formation groups to provide fire support and point defense coverage," Coulson paused for a second, "What I want from all of you is to get a training schedule in place to get these ship slotted into our fleet… I'm going to the council this afternoon to make my presentation. Once we get the ships, I want to initiate E-Day in fourteen standard days after that…"

Coulson let the shock wear off before continuing, "I do have some other news… We've got the 6th Marine Division with all her supporting elements to deal with Hegemony ground troops and installations. We have enough lift capability to take the whole division with us… I've also talked to Ambassador Tashe of the Invid. She's agreed to accompany the fleet and bring three Mollusk carriers, so we can add their fighters to our overall strength."

Coulson saw the looks of doubt surface among his staff, "Yes, I know that the Haydonites will undoubtedly have PSI jammers with them, but Tashe has assured me that she can break through the jamming to help control and direct three carrier's worth of Invid fighters."

He looked around the room, he'd served with most of these "people" over the last several years and they had seen a lot together. These people were fighting for something bigger than themselves…they were fighting for their freedom and their existence.

"People, we are working against the clock here. I don't want to hear what we can't do… I want solutions and hear what we can do," Coulson said as he turned over the meeting to his Chief-of-Staff to present the operational plan to defeat the Haydonite fleet and retake Earth.

 **oOoOo**

Willow was still trying to understand what was going on as she followed General Coulson, his aides and Samantha down a corridor. She could understand why Samantha was here, but she was still mystified why she was being included. She didn't have any more time to dwell on her situation as they went through a huge door, entering what could only be called a great hall. Willow tried to keep her mouth from hanging open as her head turned around in all directions. Her attention was drawn to the huge circular conference table that had a holographic display of the galaxy in the middle. She tried not to gawk as she saw all the different aliens gathered at the huge table. She noted that there were eight places at the table with other chairs arranged behind each spot. She quickly realized that was for observers and staff for the people sitting at the table. She jumped a little when one of Coulson's aides touched her on the shoulder. She felt the rush of embarrassment at her skittishness mumbling out an apology to Captain Tami as she held out her arm to show her and Samantha where to sit. They quickly took seats in the chairs setup behind where Coulson sat down next to another human at the main conference table. She watched as they quickly began conversing with in low whispers

"That is Ambassador Hampton, he is one of your civilian government representatives that came with the Arcadia. He was most instrumental along with General Coulson and Admiral Coleiro in helping to form the Alliance. The General is going to make his presentation to the Alliance Council," the Garudan said in a low voice as she sat down beside her and Samantha.

Willow found it strange that she was sitting in a chair having a conversation with a creature that looked like a fox. She found herself thinking of Oz and wondering how he was doing at this moment. Her attention was drawn as General Coulson stood up from his seat at the conference table.

"Esteemed ambassadors, I am here today to ask for your help. As you have probably heard by now, the Haydonites have located my homeworld and launched an attack against it. We had hoped that distance and lack of information would protect her, but that is no longer the case."

Willow had to catch herself from staring too hard as she watched an alien that looked like one of the demons from back home stand up. She was surprised by the strong human-like voice that it spoke with, "General, we have seen the reports and you and your people have our sympathies, but what is it that you are asking of the council?" the Perytonian ambassador asked.

"The 12th Grand Fleet under the command of Prelate Dejan has occupied Earth and normally we would use our main fleet units for any counterattack, but the timing of this Haydonite attack caught us as Admiral Coleiro has initiated 'Operation Downfall' which has taken all fleet reinforcements for the offensive. The Admiral has given me orders to form a new fleet around the Arcadia's battlegroup, but we are short of ships… I am here today to ask for you to release the planetary defense fleets that each of you keep in your home systems and colony worlds to reinforce my fleet."

The words had barely left Coulson's lips when the ambassadors started murmuring amongst themselves. Coulson spoke again quickly to keep control of this meeting, "Ambassadors, I know I am asking a lot… Our request is limited to those worlds furthest from the fighting to minimize any potential risk to your people."

This time it was the Spherisian ambassador that spoke, "General, you are asking for us to leave our planets defenseless. There are still Haydonite raiding groups hitting some of our outer bases and supply lines. You are asking to leave our homeworlds and our colonies to their mercies and we all know that the Haydonites show no mercy."

Watching the meeting and the responses to the General, Willow felt a flash of anger that Earth was going to be forgotten and allowed to suffer. She was caught off-guard as a large and very strong looking woman who was dressed in bright armor stood up from the table. She raised an eyebrow in surprise to see how much skin that the ambassador exposed with the outfit she wore. The first thought that came to her was that the woman looked like one of the amazons from the Wonder Woman comics that Xander used to read.

"My fellow ambassadors we wouldn't be here today if it wasn't for the assistance and sacrifice that the humans have provided to all of us," the Praxian ambassador said in a strong husky yet very feminine voice. Willow watched her closely and saw that the statement elicited nods from the other ambassadors. She could see a change in the ambassador's face as she continued, "All of us have seen our people suffer at the hands of the Haydonites…we have all experienced personally how our enemy treats 'organics'. My people will not forget the stories of those humans that were brought as prisoners to the detention camps," the Praxian ambassador paused for a moment, "I recommend that we consider and vote on the General's request."

"I second the ambassador's motion. I believe we should put this to a vote," another voice quickly added.

Willow blinked as she stared at the Invid who was standing from its chair to address the room. She tried to keep her mouth from hanging open at this sudden change in the situation. She had to fight the urge to stand up and shout out and cheer.

"Thank you, Ambassador Tashe," the Praxian ambassador replied with a nod towards the Invid.

Willow again had to catch her jaw from dropping open as she realized who the Invid ambassador was. She could hardly recognize the Invid from the table being that same carrier commander from all those years before.

"Do you speak for yourself or for the Regess?" the Perytonian ambassador asked.

"I speak for both…" Tashe replied, "I have known General Coulson for a long time and whatever this council decides, I know that he will still try to free his planet from our common enemy. Even though my people are impacted by the use of the Haydonite PSI jammers, I will accompany the General with three carriers loaded with mecha. We go with no illusions…we go because the humans are our allies and friends...we go because we do what we must."

"I say we put it to a vote now!" growled the bear-like Karbarran ambassador.

"That is not council procedure," the Perytonian ambassador said trying to maintain control over the proceedings, "The humans, since they are the affected party, have to withdraw from the room while we discuss this matter and put it to a vote,"

"To hell with the procedures!" the Karbarran ambassador growled again, "Like the Praxians, we too remember and will never forget the humans when they liberated our world. We remember the sacrifice of their soldiers to protect our children from those filthy machine creatures… I say we vote now! Karbarra votes yes to send whatever ships and troops we can spare to support the humans in retaking their planet!"

Willow could feel the tension and excitement in the room as she found herself holding her breath as her eyes turned back to the devil-looking creature that was chairing this meeting. For a moment she thought she saw a slight smirk form on his face and then a slight shrug.

"As my esteemed Karbarran has voiced his opinion and feelings on the matter, I put the Praxian motion to the council for vote… All those in favor of releasing ships from our planetary defense fleets, indicate yes," the Perytonian asked in a clear strong voice.

Willow felt her heart beating hard as each ambassador around the table either raised their hand or nodded. The voting finally reached the Perytonian. She watched as the alien looked around at each of the other races and his gaze turned towards the humans. She could feel the alien's eyes catch her eyes as he spoke, "Even though I have concerns about this operation, I must agree with what my fellow ambassadors have stated… We owe much to the humans. If we are going to succeed and thrive within this Alliance, then we must either stand or fall together… We do what we must to help the humans and their world…"

 **oOoOo**

Paul was lying on his bed in his quarters, he could feel the exhaustion pulling at him as he struggled with trying to rest, but his mind kept racing as it went over fleet deployments and strengths. He kept trying to find any extra ships he could divert to the newly created 7th Fleet, but he had tapped everything that he could that wouldn't put his offensive at risk.

 _There's still one more card to play_ , he thought as he tiredly sat up, getting out of bed and making his way back to his desk.

Typing in commands to his communications panel, he made sure that the encryption and security protocols were in place. Even with all security, he still wasn't taking any chances as he routed his call through different relay stations throughout Alliance controlled space. He knew what the answer was going to be as he'd been kept up-to-date on this project from the very beginning, but knowing who was involved with it, he found himself hoping for a miracle. He didn't have to wait long for his call to be answered as the static cleared and an older woman's face appeared on the screen.

"Hello Admiral… What can I do for you today?"

"Hello, Chief. I need to talk to you about your 'little hobby' you're working on?"

Chief Rachel Larson studied her friend's face and could tell right away that something was wrong, "Sir, what's wrong?"

Paul sighed as a grim look came to his face, "The Haydonites blindsided us… Somehow they located Earth."

He heard the gasp and saw the look of shock on her face at this news.

"H-How? How did they find her? How did we find out?" she asked in a shocked voice as she tried to digest the news.

Paul quickly relayed all the information that he had received from General Coulson, "I don't know how they located Earth, but they're in a world of hurt if Prelate Dejan is in command."

"So when are you taking the 1st Fleet back to Earth and handing that bastard his ass?" Rachel asked angrily.

Paul didn't reply right away and Larson knew that something else was wrong, "You're going to counterattack? Aren't you? You've left everyone back there hanging for the last five years! They probably think we're all dead," she asked in a stunned voice not quite believing what she was seeing and hearing.

"Chief…Rachel… It's not that simple—" he started to say.

"SCREW YOU! IT IS SIMPLE!" Rachel shouted over the video channel.

If it had been anyone else, Paul would have torn a strip from them, but Larson and he had too many years together and she was the only person — besides Faith — that could get away with it, "Rachel… I've already launched 'Downfall', everything is in flux. The 2nd Fleet got mauled in the counterattack and everything else is going into the offensive. I've got Coulson forming the 7th Fleet around his battle group and I'm trying to find reserves, but with the 12th Grand Fleet sitting at Earth, we've got a huge opportunity to hit the enemy core systems hard and maybe end this war early!"

"Damn… I knew that you were a cold-blooded bastard," she said angrily, "You'd be in good company with Breetai or Edwards—" as soon as that particular name left her lips she realized that she'd made a mistake as she saw the expression change on Paul's face.

"Chief Petty Officer Larson! I will not debate the merits of my offensive strategies with you at this time!" he said in a low angry tone letting her know that she'd crossed the line with him.

Rachel heard and saw it. She wished that she could take the words back, but it was too late, "Yes, sir!" she snapped back.

"The reason I'm calling is to check on the status of your 'hobby project'?"

Rachel shook her head already knowing what he was going to ask, "You've got our latest status reports. We can start shakedown trials in three months at the earliest."

"Chief, you have ten days to get weapons, defensive systems and propulsion online," Paul said in a flat voice.

"Jesus Pau—Admiral!" she said seeing the look on his face, "There's no way… I mean we've got main power, most of her weapon systems are installed, but the main gun hasn't been test fired yet and the only shielding I can give you is a pin-point barrier as we haven't installed the emitters for the omni-directional shield! It would be two months at the earliest before we can even install the spacefold engines! The best I can give you is maneuvering engines and thrusters, but she's not ready to go into battle!"

"I don't need her to fold… I just need her able to fight! Can you have her ready in ten days?" Paul asked in a hard voice.

Larson knew what he was going to do with her 'hobby project'. When he had approached her two years ago with this idea, she had said it would be years to build a ship like her. It wasn't that she didn't have the specs or designs to build this ship. She'd had design blueprints and specs of all the REF ships from their universe as that was her hobby when she wasn't patching together Veritechs to keep them flying. It was just that she'd never overseen the actual building of a warship, especially _this_ ship. Her original estimates were that it would be seven to ten years to complete this ship, but as the Alliance had liberated more planets and captured more of the Haydonite automated factories, it made this project more possible. What had really accelerated this project was the liberation of Karbarra. Once the Karbarran industrial might had been freed, it had speeded up things.

 _It wasn't like we had to figure anything out or re-invent everything… We just had to have the resources and capacity to build her_ , Larson thought looking at Paul's face on the com display. She knew what was at stake and she also realized that Paul would be moving heaven and earth to help everyone back home. That he was making this call only emphasized how desperate the situation was.

"If I focus all the construction crews and equipment, we could have primary and most of the secondary weapons on-line… I could install shield emitters to the forward section of her to give her some added protection beyond the pin-point barrier and her armor. As long as you don't need her to do any fancy maneuvering, I might be able to cobble something together in ten days, but she won't be pretty," she said sighing in resignation.

Paul gave her a small smile of appreciation, "Thanks Chief… I knew that I could count on you. Once I know more about the 7th's operational plan, I can firm up the day and my arrival to your station, but be ready to go in ten days."

"Sir, we do have one problem," Rachel said.

"What's that?"

"I have some Navy personnel here, but most of my people are construction workers or engineers. She'll need a crew. The sooner the better, so I can bring them up to speed on her systems," she replied.

"How many do you need?"

"Normal ship's complement for the SDF-3 was twenty-five hundred, but a lot of those people were for engineering. With what I got here, I could use at least a thousand…"

Paul nodded his head in understanding, "You'll have them… I'll cut the necessary orders as soon as I'm off this call."

Larson nodded, "Very good, sir. There is one more thing though."

Paul heaved a deep tired sigh, "What is it, Chief?"

"We'll need a Captain…"

Paul snorted at this problem and another small smile formed on his face, "That won't be a problem… I have the perfect person in mind for the job."

 **oOoOo**

President Kinsey sat at his desk in the Oval Office. Looking out the window at the White House grounds, you could almost believe that things were still the way they used to be, but then he would catch the occasional glimpse of the huge terrifying-looking Haydonite armored soldiers patrolling the grounds and the harsh reality would return.

He still found himself shuddering whenever he saw those Reavers as the Haydonites referred to their soldiers. Turning away from the window he looked across the room where he had once wielded power and had grand plans and dreams for more power. He was now only a minor functionary to the aliens and he had no idea how long he would remain useful to them.

His eyes gazed down to the report on his desk that was labelled "Top Secret". The report had been put together by a number of agencies using whatever intel sources they had both domestically and around the world to analyze and report on the Haydonite occupation of the planet. It made for some depressing reading as it reported on how the aliens had quickly landed in certain areas and built bases. There were also unsubstantiated reports of other activity occurring in these newly constructed bases. The Haydonites hadn't been shy about conscripting locals to construct their bases, but the reports hinted ominously that something else was going on behind those alien walls and fortifications as those conscripted laborers and others that were being picked up in sweeps were going in and no one was coming out. The report outlined the current futility of resistance as there had been several reports of local resistance both in the United States and around the world of people trying to stand-up to the aliens and being mercilessly cut down, with survivors being rounded up and taken into those bases.

Kinsey's thoughts weren't concerned with resistance, they were solely focused on survival… _his survival_. He kept wondering how he could maintain his position and raise himself in the eyes of humanity's new overlords. So far he had acquiesced to everything that the Haydonites had demanded. It wasn't like he had much choice anyways and other than some grumbling from mostly the military people, there hadn't any voices in his cabinet speaking out in favor of resistance.

The strange thing was that outside of the areas where the Haydonites had established their bases and those parts of the world which had been hit by the invasion, life was pretty much continuing on as it always had. The aliens were allowing humans to continue operating normally where it suited them. They seemed to realize that disrupting and throwing everything into chaos was not completely in their best interests. Most people were accepting of the façade as the reality was too terrifying to contemplate, but Kinsey was a realist and he knew that the façade couldn't continue forever. He knew that something was going to happen and he needed to position himself to give himself the greatest advantage. He found it strange and worrisome that The First Evil hadn't made anymore appearances to provide him guidance or advice. He'd hoped for at least a little more support from that direction. Further thoughts were interrupted as he heard a muffled commotion outside his door.

Kinsey's heart started racing as the commotion seemed to get louder and then it was suddenly quiet outside his office. As the door opened, Kinsey felt the fear clawing at him and it took all of his self-control not to cower under his desk as he was greeted with the site of a cloaked Haydonite entering the Oval Office. He took deep breaths trying to put on his best poker face to at least look somewhat less terrified as the alien stopped in front of his desk.

 _It's not right… They should have faces… If they had faces, I could at least get a reading on them_ , he thought as he found himself staring at the red glowing light beneath the hood.

"President Kinsey… I am Rector Nunan of the Inquisitor sect."

"How may I be of assistance to you, Rector," Kinsey replied trying to compose himself seeing that the conversation was starting out in a fairly good tone.

"From our experience with your people from your Arcadia Expedition and our interrogations of prisoners, we have gleamed a great deal of information about your people, society and culture…"

Kinsey raised an eyebrow in slight surprise at the alien's statement as he wasn't sure where this conversation was going, but he was getting an old familiar feeling that he might be able to use this to his advantage, "You have a question about us that you want to ask?" he asked.

"We know of those women that are called 'Slayers'. We have gathered some information about them, but we find that our records are incomplete regarding them… Needless to say we do not like having incomplete information," the alien replied.

Kinsey was really confused over why aliens would be worrying about Slayers, but he wasn't going to question it as his feeling still kept telling him that there might be something for him to gain from this exchange of information.

"I'm familiar with Slayers… I find it strange though as no Slayers went with the Arcadia. As far as I'm aware only Poten—" Kinsey caught himself as he started putting pieces together.

 _Only Potentials went with the Arcadia… It wasn't until Cleveland that they activated all of them and turned them into Slayers… Why would these aliens be so concerned about Slayers?_

The more he thought about it the more he got the feeling that something else was going on and that the Haydonites were hiding something. He felt as if the alien was studying his reactions as he applied his patented political poker face trying to get a grasp on why the Haydonites were so interested about Slayers and how he could grab an advantage from this situation.

"We've had our own troubles with Slayers here on Earth… They've caused nothing but trouble for us, engaging in their penchant of violence and destruction. Actually before you…um…arrived here, we were engaged in hunting them down," Kinsey said with a small smile. He studied the alien as its glowing eye seemed to start strobing more quickly. This seemed to confirm his suspicions that something else was going on.

Nunan studied the human and from the data records and psychological profiles they had constructed about organics, he could see that the human would cooperate for self-gain and self-interest. He focused on that to gain what the Hegemony wanted, "Yes…we have had difficulties when dealing with these Slayers… Of course the Hegemony will show its appreciation and gratitude to those that assist us in this particular matter."

Kinsey had thought he'd been surprised enough as he kept his poker face in play as his brain raced through all his options and opportunities, "Of course…anything I can do to assist you and the Hegemony to remove any problems," he said flashing his trademark campaign-style smile.

"We are interested in one particular Slayer," Nunan said studying the human's reactions.

Kinsey again raised an eyebrow in surprise, "And who would that be?" he asked trying to keep the surprise out of his voice while maintaining his poker face.

"We want to find the Slayer called Faith…"


	10. Brave new world

**CHAPTER TEN:**

 **Brave new world**

 ** _Prisoner Identifier:_** _B511E6D4-6C48-4A01-8A3F-ED6056706434_ _ **  
Species:**_ _Human  
_ _ **Sex:**_ _Female  
_ _ **Status:**_ _Undergoing Interrogation  
_ _ **Notes:**_ _The prisoner was captured during a raid on an enemy outpost {_ casualties incurred during raid were higher than projected or anticipated _}. She was one of only a handful of enemy survivors from the fighting. The Hegemony is still determined to learn more about this new organic species and their use of Protoculture. These prisoners should be able to give us invaluable insight into our new foe. The organic female has identified herself as Anya Bronowski. It appears that this female's mate was a soldier killed during the fighting where she was captured. Her function {_ prisoner referred to herself as a med-tech _} is to provide medical care to injured organics. The organic is trying to resist our attempts at questioning her. On several occasions she invoked curses and kept calling for someone called "D'Hoffryn" to help hurt and take revenge on us {_ inference is that the organic is invocating the superstitious belief of a superior being by praying to that deity as these invocations occurred mostly when extreme interrogation was used on the prisoner _}. It has also been requested to obtain any information regarding the human's command structure and leadership caste to develop psychological profiles in order to anticipate tactics and strategies employed by this new enemy. Recovered data from the recent attack and destruction of Hegemony forces and installations by the humans have provided us a name of the human commander who led the attack. We will be following up on this with further questioning of the prisoner. For future reference regarding this species, we have found that we have achieved good results when employing heat and cutting to the prisoner {_ see attached medical report _}._

— Part of a Haydonite interrogation report recovered by Alliance forces from Organic Processing Facility-209 after the liberation of Praxis

 **oOoOo**

Staring into the fridge, Faith couldn't decide whether she wanted a beer or a soda. Glancing back over her shoulder she could see that the clock was saying it was barely past noon. Looking at the beer, memories of how her mom would be drunk before lunch time — on those days she got up before noon — replayed through her head. She shook her head slowly recalling all the times she swore that she would never end up like her mom, but that didn't matter anymore as her mother was dead along with a good portion of Boston for now several years past.

Sighing while grabbing the beer, she closed the fridge door quickly as the lights started flickering, indicating that the power might go out again. Cracking off the cap, she took a long swig of the cold beer enjoying the coolness on her throat as she walked back into the living room. The TV was still going strong as Andy had it hooked up to a battery backup supply, so they could keep up-to-date on the latest news even with the power outages and brownouts they'd been suffering through, on and off the past week.

She found it strange that they actually still had power because everything she'd seen in the movies always had the valiant humans losing their power in the first stages of the alien invasion. Considering that Earth had lost and been occupied by aliens, things weren't so bad considering. Sitting down, she watched as the news continued to provide information regarding availability of food and water at stores and distribution centers setup across the state to make sure that the population was being taken care of. The news occasionally replayed the announcement by the Governor mobilizing the Texas National Guard to assist during this "emergency" to help maintain law and order. Faith couldn't help herself as she smirked and shook her head at the politician's pronouncements like that anything they did would matter or have any effect as his clip would be almost immediately followed up by the shaky cell phone video footage from the Haydonites landing and occupying Corpus Christi.

At first, Faith, along with most of the commentators, had found it strange that the aliens had decided to land there to build their base. She'd figured that they would have preferred one of the bigger cities, but she had given up wondering several days ago as the only footage to get out of there was continually replayed. She saw the huge armored soldiers disembarking from the alien spacecraft moving outwards. When she'd first seen Reavers, she felt that they would have been right at home in a Hellmouth. The footage showed the aliens spreading out, they seemed to be corralling and forcing bystanders off in one direction. It didn't take long for things to get quickly out a hand as the camera turned and caught several pickup trucks with a group of good ol' boys piling out carrying weapons. No matter how many times she saw the video clip, she just couldn't wrap her mind around what those people were thinking that they could accomplish as they started opening fire on the aliens. Even with the grainy quality and shaking of the camera, the video quite vividly caught the aliens' response to this attack. There were some commentators still talking about how "lucky" it was that the person filming managed to escape considering the Haydonites devastating response, but Faith knew that luck had nothing to do with it. She realized that the aliens were letting people see what would happen if they tried to resist.

Tired of seeing and hearing the same news reports over and over, Faith decided to try flipping through the channels. She got static on most of the channels because the national stations and those that broadcast via satellite were still down. She finally got a clear channel, raising an eyebrow in surprise as the screen filled with an older man's face. The camera pulled back showing the man standing with a huge cross behind him and holding a book in his right hand, which she finally realized was the bible.

 _"The Lord God said that man shall be judged for his sins and forced into a reckoning in these final days…"_

 _Oh Jesus…we can't get any real programs, but public access television can manage to find a way to broadcast during an alien invasion_ , she thought shaking her head slowly as the man continued to preach in such a loud voice that the microphone slightly distorted it. She was going to change the channel, but considering that there was nothing else on she decided to leave it on for some entertainment.

Sitting comfortably on the sofa, Faith slowly sipped her beer as the TV preacher continued to rant and rail against man and all the sins and immoral things that humans were guilty of doing. As he listed each and every sin and immoral activity, she kept mental track, checking off the ones she'd done and the ones she hadn't. She found that there were very few that she hadn't done from the long list that the TV preacher had listed. She found herself growing bored as her hand reached for the remote to change the channel as the preacher continued his shouting.

 _"Man became prideful and boastful of his technology and the things he could invent… The Internet allowed for the evils of pornography to reach the most innocent of us… We thought that our technology would save us…we raised it to have a higher place than God. Look what it brought us! We thought we could travel out into his domain…amongst the heaven and stars. We sent nothing but sinners out there and now we are being punished for our sinful pride. The sinners of the Arcadia Expedition have brought down God's anger on the rest of us! We face God's wrath for their sins! Their deaths are justified—"_

Quickly turning off the TV, Faith flipped the dark screen the finger with her free hand, because she didn't think Andy would appreciate it if he came home to his TV having a beer bottle embedded in it. She wanted to scream as the TV preacher's words replayed in her head. Finishing her beer, she grabbed her helmet and headed quickly out the backdoor.

Sitting on her Cyclone, she debated about where to go or what to do. Besides wanting to ride to try and clear her mind, she realized that she needed to try and get a hold of either Buffy, Giles, or Riley to find out what was going on and what they were going to do. With all the satellites gone, she didn't have any secure means of communication with the others. That didn't mean that they had no communications. They had backup communication channels in place, but they were riskier to use and were to be only used in the event of an emergency.

 _I think this constitutes as an emergency_ , Faith thought, starting up her bike then pulling out of the driveway, quickly gaining speed heading down the road.

 _Need to put some distance between here before I make my call_ , she thought, leaning into the bike and gunning the accelerator causing the Cyclone to roar and explode forward. She tried to keep her focus on the road while pushing away the thoughts that kept hammering at her.

 **oOoOo**

The directors of the CIA and FBI were feeling decidedly uncomfortable sitting in front of the President's desk in the Oval Office. It wasn't the room or the fake smile that President Kinsey was giving them that was making them uncomfortable. They were both concerned and alarmed about the Haydonite that was hovering in the corner behind the President's desk.

Kinsey could see the looks of worry on both men's faces. He didn't really care what their worries or problems were, but unfortunately he still required these men to do their jobs and he needed them to do their jobs to give him an "in" with the Haydonites, "Gentlemen, Rector Nunan is here because I want to show him that we have nothing to hide and will grant him our full co-operation in this matter," Kinsey said flashing his trademark smile, "Besides he's in the same business as you… He's a member of the Inquisitor sect from which he explained is their equivalent to military intelligence. Isn't that right, Rector?"

"Yes…you are correct, Mr. President," Nunan replied.

Both directors raised eyebrows in surprise at how the alien had addressed Kinsey. They were both experienced political animals to realize where Kinsey was going. Despite their misgivings and concerns, they knew that now was not the time to raise any objections about collaborating with the enemy. They both knew that they would be having a long and private conversation later about the President's position.

"Sir, I have the file with me on everything we have on Faith Lehane. Other than a few unsubstantiated sightings, the trail has been cold on her for the last couple of years," the FBI director said, leaning forward and placing the file folder on the President's desk.

"Other than some material related to her time when the Arcadia arrived here, we have nothing to add. The woman has been a ghost," the CIA director added, leaning in and placing his file folder on the desk as well.

Leaning forward, Kinsey's smile faded to be replaced by a more serious look, "Gentlemen, that is about to change… Your priority is of this moment, is to locate Faith Lehane. You will use whatever resources are needed…you will leave no stone unturned…you will combine your resources to find her," he said in a low hard voice.

The CIA director suddenly got an awkward and uncomfortable look on his face, "Uh…excuse me Mr. President, but I have to remind you that the CIA is prevented by law from operating domestically…"

Kinsey looked at the man as if he was demented. He had to fight the urge to laugh in his face as he took a deep breath to get his response together, "You both seem to believe that we are working under the old rules… Gentlemen, those days are gone and there are new rules and powers in play here. The days of reporting to Congress and following the constitution are gone. There is now only the Haydonites and getting results for them. Do either one of you have any problems with this new arrangement and this request?" he said, studying their faces intently for any sign of disapproval or disobedience.

"N-No, sir," both men replied trying to not betray their feelings on their faces.

"Excellent… Now get out of my sight and find her!" he ordered with a dismissive wave of his hand.

Leaning back in his chair, Kinsey watched as both directors hurriedly rushed from the room, _Hmmm… I could actually get used to being the head lackey… There are certain perks with the position._

"You handled that very well, Mr. President. I will inform Prelate Dejan of your invaluable service in this important matter," Nunan said as he moved around to the front of the desk, making his way for the door as well.

Kinsey bowed his head in obedient respect to the alien as his thoughts continued to race as to why the Haydonites were so eager to find this particular Slayer, _I need to check with my own sources to see what they know_ , he thought as he watched the alien leave his office.

The door had barely closed when a familiar voice spoke from behind the President, "I'm impressed Bobby…way to handle the situation and take advantage of it! You're looking very Presidential…considering the circumstances."

The First using the form of Kinsey's predecessor stood leaning against the window, flashing a lifeless smile. Kinsey took a deep breath to regain his composure from being startled, "Now, you show up! I could have used your help days ago!" he said with a surprising flash of anger.

The face that The First Evil was using took on a more serious look, "Watch your tone with me!" he said with a hard voice causing Kinsey to recoil in fear at overstepping his bounds, but then smiled again surprising the President, "Considering the pressures you've been under, I'll let that little slip of the tongue slide…this time."

"Y-Yes, master," Kinsey said with a deferential tone, "How may I serve you?"

"You're doing perfectly, Bob. What's your take on this whole Faith business?"

Kinsey started to relax more as the conversation switched to deals, scheming and politics, "The aliens are hiding something or they have some other agenda… That bitch, Faith was screwing the Captain of the Arcadia before they left. They were pretty hot and heavy…"

"Yeah, I heard about the surveillance tape. It was supposed to be some pretty Grade-A porn," The First said with a smirk.

"Yeah, it was pretty good," Kinsey said with a snort and laugh.

"So Bob, the question we need to ask is why these aliens are so hell bent to get a hold of her? Coleiro and the others are dead, so why single her out?"

Kinsey grimaced as he got a puzzled look on his face, "I'm still trying to figure out that angle, but whatever their reasons are we need to find her and figure out why they want her and wring as much advantage out of this as we can."

"That's the spirit, Bob!" The First said with a big smile, "I knew that you were the right man for this job, but I don't think we can rely too much on the help around here. Some of them aren't taking too well to the new reality and they might not appreciate what you're doing… Some of them might look at the change in the power structure and decide that this is their opportunity to make a play for the big chair."

Kinsey considered what he was being told and it seemed like sound advice, "I take it that you have some suggestions," he said with a crooked smile as his thoughts raced trying to see all the different angles to gain advantage for himself.

"Of course, Bobby! Otherwise I wouldn't be here. I'll make sure that my people's priority is to locate that bitch. I know that Rosenberg witch cast a spell to hide them from me, but with all the chaos that our new friends have caused, we don't have to be as…restrained in what we do now," The First said still smiling.

"It's a brave new world out there, Bob. Even with these aliens, there's still lots of opportunities for us to get what we want. Even if in the end there is only us and the aliens left here…time is winding down for humanity as a whole," The First said happily, getting a smile in return from Kinsey.

 **oOoOo**

Faith had been driving for several hours when she caught sight of the roadside diner. She'd past a couple of diners and gas stations, but they had been locked up and she either couldn't access their payphones or they were out of order. This time though things looked more positive as she saw a couple of cars and trucks parked in front. Slowing down, she pulled into the parking lot and sat there for a moment looking over the diner and parking lot for anything that might cause her troubles.

Seeing that things looked clear, she dismounted and walked into the diner. She immediately drew stares from the few people sitting at the tables and counters. She could tell that the customers were probably all locals from the suspicious looks they gave her as she moved through the diner, taking a seat at the far end of the counter. It didn't take long for the waitress to come up.

"What can I get for you?"

"Just a coffee, thanks."

It didn't take long for the waitress to return with a cup and coffee pot. Faith found herself studying the diner and the patrons as the waitress filled her cup. As they waitress pulled away, Faith spoke up.

"Is your payphone working?"

The waitress gave her a strange look, "Yeah, considering everything going on it seems that the land lines are still working."

Reaching into her pocket Faith slid a twenty dollar bill across the counter, "I need some change… I need to make a call."

The waitress eyed the bill as she picked it up and gave Faith another up and down look before turning and heading towards the cash register. Faith was feeling her anxiety build up as it seemed to take the waitress forever to return with her change. When she finally did, Faith left some of the change beside her coffee to pay for it as she took the rest and made her way quickly to the payphone by the washrooms.

She let out a small sigh of relief at hearing the dial tone click in. The phone number she needed to call danced in her head as she plugged coins into the slot on the phone and pushed the numbers on the dial pad. She waited as the line crackled and buzzed and then an automated voice kicked in telling her that the number she was calling was subject to long distance charges. She wasn't worried as she'd put in enough money for the short message she needed to leave as the line began to ring. It seemed to take forever for the line to make the five rings before the phone picked up.

"Please leave your message at the beep," the recorded message said in a familiar and distinctive English accent before the answering machine beeped.

Faith didn't hesitate as she spoke rapidly into the phone using a low voice, "I'm leaving a message for the librarian… Tell my sister that I'm well and I'm staying with my friend… I would really like to see everyone and know that you're all well. I'll try and call again later."

Hanging up the phone, she moved back to the counter to sit and finish her coffee. She saw the looks that she would occasionally get from the other customers, but she didn't care. She felt a little better that she'd been able to leave a message at the number they had setup as an emergency dead drop. She just hoped that it wouldn't be too long before Giles checked the answering machine. She knew that the code she was using wasn't perfect, but Buffy would understand where she was staying.

Faith had told her fellow Slayer about Andy. It wasn't that she'd gone into a long discussion about her relationship with him or discussed her feelings. She'd told Buffy about Andy and asked that if something had ever happened that if someone could let him know what had happened to her.

As she sat there finishing her coffee, she found it strange that for the longest time, she'd actually been concerned and worried about Andy knowing about her dying. It wasn't like he could do anything to change it, but she didn't want to leave him hanging and spending the rest of his life wondering what had happened to her. She wanted to give him closure.

Faith found herself thinking more of Andy and how he had told her how he felt about her. There was a part of her still hesitant to say anything or return his feelings, but she couldn't deny it anymore that she did care for him. Whatever hope she had for Paul coming back was gone and she felt that she could finally let go and move on. Her thoughts drifted back to Andy and that little voice in the back of her mind was giving her warnings, telling her that this wasn't the time to get involved with anyone, that she would only get hurt again. A brief thought of not going back to Andy flashed in her head.

 _It would be the easy thing to do…just run away and hide_ , she thought staring into her coffee cup.

Yes, it would be the easy thing, but the more she thought about it the more she realized that it wasn't what she wanted. The past week with Andy had been good. Despite the alien invasion and occupation, it had been the best and most normal time she'd felt since Paul had left.

Leaving the diner and mounting her Cyclone to head back to Andy's, she was still filled with doubts, but with the Haydonites firmly in charge of Earth, only God knew how long everyone had. As she started her motorcycle and leaned forward to drive off, she debated with herself over what she should do. She finally came to the realization that if she didn't do something about Andy, she would regret it for whatever time she had left. She gunned the accelerator, peeling out of the diner's parking lot as she suddenly wanted to get back to Andy as quick as possible.

 **oOoOo**

Andy was trying not to worry as he fidgeted over the stove cooking dinner. He'd come home from delivering emergency supplies to those people that couldn't get around. He'd decided to take a trip over to Fort Hood to visit his friend there. He was still surprised that the aliens had allowed the military to remain in place and keep their weapons, but his friend had been able to bring him up to speed. It took a while for the shock to wear off that the aliens considered the US military nothing more than annoyance to their forces. Andy's friend was able to give him more details about the invasion, it didn't take a genius to see that the aliens didn't need to force the dismantling of the military. The way things were going, the military would probably fold up in less than a year. His friend — Mike — was saying that there were already cases of desertion, with people just walking off base, heading for home. There was no attempt to arrest or bring those that left back. Some units were only being held together by their officers and NCOs, but it didn't look good over the long term.

Andy was still trying to deal with this news when he arrived back home. Finding that Faith was gone, he tried to keep his disappointment and worry in check seeing that her bike was gone and she left no note. He debated calling his sister, but gave up on that idea as he knew that rather than help she'd probably just say "she'd told him so" and do a dance of joy over Faith leaving. He didn't know what to do or who to call. He decided his only option was to stay put and fix dinner and hope that she returned.

He let out a huge sigh of relief, feeling the weight leave his shoulders as he heard her Cyclone come up the driveway. He resisted the urge to run out and check on her because he knew that she hated that and if it was important enough for him to know, she would tell him.

He kept his eyes on the stove and the cooking food as he didn't want her to see him waiting at the door like some love-sick teenager. They were both adults and they needed to trust and respect each other if they were going to have any sort of relationship or future together. He fought the urge to turn around as he heard the door open and close.

"Hey there," he said keeping his eyes on the cooking food.

"Hey," Faith replied as she stood in the entrance studying Andy's back. She'd had several hours to think about her and Andy and sort through her feelings. She finally had a clear idea of what she wanted.

"Go for a ride?" he asked trying to use a nonchalant tone in his voice.

She picked up the hint of the anxious tone in his voice. She felt a flash of anger at the thought of him trying to keep track of her, but then she suddenly realized that she'd left the house, been gone several hours and hadn't left a note of where she'd gone or what she was doing. She found herself putting herself in Andy's shoes…coming home and finding her gone with no word. Letting out a sigh, she realized she'd screwed up, "Sorry, I should've left a note. I went out looking for a phone to leave a message at a number we have to leave emergency messages at," she said somewhat sheepishly.

"You could have called from here," he said turning to face her.

"Didn't want to risk it in case the phone was compromised. Had to drive several hours away. I used a payphone at a diner. They shouldn't be able to trace it back here," she said moving closer to him.

Andy could have slapped himself as he realized that she was right to not want to compromise the house, "Sorry… I'm not really into all this cloak and dagger stuff. I'm more of a fix'er upper and blow things up kind of guy," he said with a smirk.

Faith came up close and wrapped her arms around his neck, "You're also some nice eye candy too," she said with a smirk looking up into his face.

Andy smiled, gazing into Faith's eyes, "How about we talk about this more in the bedroom?" he asked.

"Good call… Better make sure you turn off the stove. We don't want to burn down the house," she said leaning in to kiss him.

It didn't take long for them to move to the bedroom. Faith pulled off Andy's shirt, running her hands up and down his chest. He quickly returned the favor pulling off her shirt fast and hard, dropping it to the ground as their hunger and desire for each other took them on to the bed where they quickly removed the rest of their clothes and lost themselves in their passion.

What Faith didn't notice, in the heat of their passion, was that her pendant had snagged on her shirt. When Andy pulled her shirt off hard the chain broke causing the pendant to fall to the bedroom floor unnoticed.

 **oOoOo**

The directors of the FBI and CIA were sitting in a secure conference room at CIA headquarters in Langley, Virginia. Both men were nervous and unsure, but they realized that the situation was dire.

"Dan, I don't like this. Things are getting out of hand with Kinsey. It was bad enough before the aliens got here. We still had a chance with Congress and the constitution to limit him," the director of the FBI said shaking his head.

"I know Brad, we were banking on Coulson's people to force a showdown with him. With the evidence we have we could have forced him out," replied the director of the CIA.

"Are you sure that he doesn't know about that evidence?"

"If he did, we would've already disappeared or suffered a massive neck trauma accident."

"I still can't believe what's gone down… Is it true about what they are saying happened in London?" the FBI director asked.

"Yeah," the CIA director said sadly, "We got a garbled message from our station there before we lost them… They reported that the Haydonites were sweeping up everyone…killing those that resisted. We got reports that you could see the smoke from the fires in Calais."

"And we've got those bastards building a base in Rockville…they might as well be on the White House lawn! Those poor bastards…nothing is getting in or out of there now," the FBI director said shaking his head sadly.

"What the hell happened to our country, Brad? How did we let it get this bad?"

The FBI director was about to answer when there was a knock at the door. Both directors quickly regained their composure as the conference room door opened. The CIA director nodded to his secretary to come in.

"Sorry to disturb you, sir, But I thought you should see this right away. General Leahy from the NSA sent this over. He said that this was important," the secretary said handing the director a file folder stamped "Top Secret".

"Thanks, Janice," the director said with a small smile. He waited until the door closed before opening the file folder and quickly skimming the contents.

"Anything the Bureau needs to be concerned about?"

The CIA director sighed, "It's something that we all need to be concerned about… The NSA is still monitoring all the land lines in the country. There is a list of phone numbers that have had little to no activity over the last several years. One of the flagged numbers got a call today…voice analysis matches with what we have on Faith Lehane."

"Jesus," the FBI director muttered, "Did they trace where she called from?"

"Yeah, it came from a payphone in some roadside diner near Tyler, Texas."

"Texas?! Did they pass the info on to Kinsey?"

"No," the CIA director said, "General Leahy is sitting on the info."

"Can you trust him?"

"I read Leahy in on what's going down," the CIA director replied, "He's in agreement with our position, but he wants to take a wait-and-see attitude. He wants to try and grab some tech knowledge and weapons from the Haydonites. He's co-ordinating with others to organize some 'black sites'. He's going to put some scientists from DARPA and a few other places together to work on finding some weapons we can use against those bastards."

The FBI director shook his head slowly in disbelief that they were talking about conspiring against their own President and organizing a resistance against alien occupiers, "So what do we do about Faith?" he asked.

"Well, we sit on this information for now… We need to know why the Haydonites are so damned interested in finding one particular Slayer. If they want her, then we sure as hell want to keep her out of their hands. I've got a few channels and sources that I can use to try and get word to the right people to let them know what's going on. You need to find her and relocate her somewhere safe and way off the grid. Use only people you absolutely trust and make sure nothing is written down or communicated over any channels. We know that Kinsey has his own eyes out there. We have to keep it compartmentalized or otherwise we're all dead…" the CIA director said with a grim look on his face.

 **oOoOo**

Faith was lying in bed with Andy's arms wrapped around her. Her mind was moving a mile a minute as she dealt with the thoughts and feelings that she felt was going to overwhelm her.

"You alright?" Andy asked as he gently ran his fingers through her hair.

Faith sighed, "I'm okay… I need to tell you something," she said as she slowly caressed his chest.

"Whatever you need to tell me, I'm all ears," Andy said suddenly feeling a little anxious and nervous.

"What you told me…that night…the night I found out that the Arcadia had been destroyed," she said quietly.

Andy felt his heart start pounding harder as he recalled how he had told her that he loved her on the same night that she found out that somebody she had cared deeply for had died. He knew that it hadn't been the best moment to declare his love for her, but he didn't regret it, "Yeah," he answered trying to not sound too nervous.

"I've only really loved one guy… Paul was someone that I wanted to have a future with. He was the guy I wanted to be with…"

Andy felt a wave of disappointment grow at what he was hearing as she continued on.

"He's gone now… The time we've spent together has been great," she paused as she took a deep breath and turned her head to look at Andy's face, "I didn't think I could love anyone else, but I love you," she said with a smile forming on her face.

It took Andy a long moment to realize what she had said and for it to sink in. When it finally hit him, a huge grin formed on his face and he pulled Faith closer to kiss her long and hard. She didn't hesitate or hold back, returning the kiss with the same passion and love…

 **oOoOo**

Standing outside, across the street, a shadowy figure studied the house. The watching figure had a huge sinister-looking grin across his face as he couldn't believe how well things were coming together, even with the minor inconvenience of an alien invasion and occupation to deal with.

"Sleep tight, firecracker. We'll be seeing you real soon," The First Evil muttered towards the house.


	11. Portends and Prophecies

**CHAPTER ELEVEN:**

 **Portends and Prophecies**

" _…After the liberation of Tirol, Captain Coleiro, General Coulson and the Tirolian commanders realized that it was only a matter of time before the Hegemony counter-attacked and in huge numbers. The Tirolians were already turning out new weapons and ships in the immense network of automated Haydonite factories that dotted Tirol, but Coleiro knew that the key to the war would be obtaining more Protoculture. This dictated that his next move was to remove the Haydonite forces from Optera. At this point in time, the Haydonites were still determining who and what the threat was to them. In the face of this unknown, the Hegemony decided to be cautious and gather overwhelming force to retake Tirol and crush this rebellion. Captain Coleiro decided that to protect Tirol and help with a move on Optera, they had to blunt any counter-attack first. Rather than wait for the Haydonites to attack, Coleiro took the fight to them. Utilizing the data and intelligence collected over the years by the Tirolians, the REF and Tirolian forces struck the Hegemony's forward operating bases across the whole sector and most importantly hit the huge orbital shipyards and base located in the Letiri System. **"Operation Good Fortune"** ranks up in history of importance with the battles the likes of Lepanto, Trafalgar, Tsushima Strait and Midway. While the REF light cruiser group supported by newly manufactured Tirolian battleships hit the Haydonite forward operating bases causing major damage and distracting their defensive forces, the Arcadia entered the Letiri System undetected, launching her Veritech squadrons. Led by the Grim Reapers and Skull squadrons, waves of fighters descended on the orbital shipyards and base, catching the enemy unprepared destroying the shipyards, base and the majority of ships that were marshalling there. The attack sent the Haydonites reeling, opening the door for the REF-Tirolian forces to move on Optera…_ "

— excerpt from _"A Galaxy at War: The Haydonite-Alliance War"_

 **oOoOo**

 _He saw ships exploding and breaking apart… He saw Alphas and other Alliance fighters vainly try to hold back the waves of Haydonite fighters streaming from the group of ships clustered close to Earth. He wanted to scream as he saw the recognizable silhouettes of dropships and other troop transports coming under heavy attack by enemy fighters overwhelming their point defenses…_

 _He could only watch helplessly as disaster unfolded in front of his eyes. He'd thought he'd seen the worse, but he saw the all too familiar form of the Arcadia. She was firing all her weapons at the advancing Haydonite capital ships, drawing their fire in return. The old ship's shields flared and crackled as it seemed that a majority of the enemy's ships were concentrating their fire on her. He was helpless as the Arcadia's shields finally failed and she started taking direct hits along her hull. It felt like hours as that proud old ship took a severe pounding before she suddenly started to break apart…spilling debris and people into the vacuum of space. He wanted to turn away, but he couldn't as the hull pieces of the Arcadia suddenly exploded in a huge blinding flash…_

 _Suddenly he was no longer in space… He was on the surface of a planet. It took him a moment to realize he was back on Earth. He couldn't recognize the area, but it was a mix of grasslands and tress. It looked hot, but he couldn't see much as smoke and flames created a blanket haze throughout the area. He recognized the destroyed tanks and other armored fighting vehicles along with a mix of other broken and burning vehicles. There were burnt and broken bodies lying everywhere, which he immediately recognized as human soldiers. He was drawn to the familiar sound of moving equipment and it didn't take him long to find himself looking at Haydonite mecha and soldiers moving across the battlefield. He watched as a Reaver would stop over the body of human soldier, then fire a burst from its weapon into it, making sure that the human was dead._

 _He didn't want to see anymore, but he knew that the Shapings wanted him to see this… He was seeing the consequences of his decisions… The price that others would pay because he'd been afraid of the path he had been shown he had to take. He somehow managed to force himself to turn away from the battlefield scene and found himself facing a wall of blackness… He knew what this was… He'd faced it before when they Regess had shown him the choices that he faced along with the consequences… It was the path she had shown him that he had to take…it lead to a future which could not be seen. He could feel the blackness call to him…urging him to take the path, but he found himself afraid. He wasn't afraid of dying… He was afraid of something worse… He was afraid of living yet losing everything that was him… Turning away from the blackness, he found himself looking again at the battlefield… Out of the smoke he saw Reavers dragging a bloodied body…it was outfitted in recognizable Cyclone armor. He tried to fight the images of the future as he saw armored Haydonite soldiers drag the body that weakly tried to resist as it kick at them. He could feel his pulse quicken and his heart pounding as the Reavers dropped and pinned the human to the ground. He wanted to deny what he was watching as they removed the helmet and he saw her face… He screamed in anger, pain and helpless frustration, but no one could hear him as he could only watch as a Reaver lift Faith up by the throat, dragging her off towards one of their dropships…_

 **oOoOo**

Paul awoke with a start, covered in sweat as he became aware of his surroundings, realizing that he was in his cabin. He'd fallen asleep while reviewing the latest operational updates and plans from "Operation Downfall" and General Coulson's "Operation Redemption". Music played in the background as he looked at the tablet still clutched in his hand. He had been trying to relax as he reviewed Coulson's force strengths and assessments displayed on screen and had drifted off. His mind switched back to the information on the tablet and a frown grew on his face. The General was trying to portray an optimistic picture of his progress on bringing together and organizing his 7th Fleet, but Paul could read between the lines and see that trying to cobble together a fleet that could operate as one cohesive unit within the deadline that the General had imposed on himself was going to be difficult, if not impossible. Paul had thought about telling Coulson about the "little" project that Chief Larson was working on, but he didn't want the General to be reliant upon the addition of this ship in the event that Rachel was unable to have her ready. She was glad to hear that she had several extra days to try and get ready than the original deadline that Paul had imposed. But even with all that, he knew, deep in his gut, that it wasn't going to be enough.

He had again considered diverting the 1st Fleet to Earth, but right now the primary offensive was making positive gains that to give them up might cause problems later on by allowing the Haydonites to rebuild and strengthen their defenses by letting up the pressure on them which would end up costing them more lives to try and break through later.

There was also the option of ordering Coulson to delay his operation, but Paul knew that time was against him as the images of Faith being dragged off by the Haydonites came back to haunt him. He knew that he had tried to avoid fate for a long time and that it had finally caught up with him. He shuddered as he tried to push the vision of the blackness from his mind. Thoughts raced through his mind.

 _What's the point of winning the war, but losing her and everyone else? How could I go on knowing that I could have saved them all? How many times have you put your life on the line? You were willing to die to protect her and the Earth…how is this any different?_

His mind suddenly caught the sounds of a song he hadn't listened to in a long time. He immediately recognized the opening chords and the female singer's voice as she started singing. His mind was suddenly transported back to another time, another place, another universe where the situation had been just as desperate for Earth and humanity. Paul closed his eyes as Lynn Minmei sang, remembering how her songs used to touch him when he was a child on the SDF-1. Memories washed over him as he heard and absorbed the lyrics of "We Will Win".

 _Still, we must fight or face defeat.  
We must stand tall and not retreat.  
With our strength we'll find the might.  
There's no fight we can't fight together,  
All together,  
We can win._

He remembered as he watched the Earth burn under Dolza's bombardment and how the SDF-1 and her Zentraedi allies attacked the Grand Fleet as this song played over all the communication channels. It wasn't until he was in the academy that he understood the tactical use of Lynn Minmei's voice and songs. He could recall how he'd felt watching as space lit up as the combined Human-Zentraedi fleet opened fire. It had been so long since he had listened to this song that he found himself concentrating on the words as he felt the emotion of Minmei's voice pull at him.

 _Blessed with strong hearts that beat as one,  
Watch us soar.  
And with love that conquers all  
We'll win this battle, this last battle.  
We will win... We must win...  
We will win... We can win...  
We can win..._

Paul was so caught up in the song along with all his thoughts and memories that he didn't realize he had activated his communications console until Captain Wright's voice suddenly spoke bringing him back to the moment and the choice he faced.

"Yes, sir. Do you need me to come down to your cabin?"

As the vision of the blackness threatened to come back, Paul took a deep breath remembering the last words of Minmei's song.

 _We can win…_

"No, Captain. I want you to organize a conference with you, Captain Dotzol and have Admiral Yai'hi conference in from his flagship in fifteen minutes," Paul said in a firm voice. He felt his stomach and nerves doing backflips, but he knew that this was _his_ …and everyone's only choice now.

He could hear the slight confusion in the Captain's voice as he replied, "Yes, sir!"

 **oOoOo**

Paul saw the two Captains and the image of Admiral Yai'hi on the display screen as he entered the conference room. The two Captains started to stand, but Paul waved for them to sit down as he took a seat at the table where he could see everyone. He didn't waste any time as he got right to the heart of the matter.

"Gentlemen, despite whatever General Coulson has managed to put together for his operation to retake Earth, I've come to the inescapable conclusion that it will end in failure with the complete destruction of his fleet…"

The other officers stared at Paul as if he was crazed and told them that there was air in space and up was down. Captain Wright finally found his voice to speak to question his Admiral, "S-Sir…how can you be so sure of this?"

Paul didn't back down as he met each officer's eyes, "Trust me… I just know."

The other two officers had learned not to question Paul's instincts and decisions, but they found it hard to believe that he could make a pronouncement like this.

"Sir, are you suggesting that we postpone the 7th Fleet's offensive?" Admiral Yai'hi asked questioningly.

Paul looked at the Perytonian Admiral, who was his second-in-command. Images of what the Haydonites would do to Faith came to the forefront of his thoughts, "No, we need to retake Earth without delay," he said firmly.

"Are you going to retask the 1st Fleet to support the 7th?" James asked hopefully.

"No… We have the Haydonites on the run and I'll be damned if I give them a chance to regroup and have anymore of our people die when we have a chance to end this war once and for all!"

"Then what are you suggesting, sir?" Captain Dotzol asked.

Paul touched some commands on the table console and a holographic image of a ship appeared in the middle of the table. The other alien officers had never seen a ship design like this before, but James had as he gasped, "My God! It's the SDF-3!"

Paul smirked as he saw the confused looks on the other officers' faces, "Gentlemen, you are looking at the most powerful ship ever designed in this galaxy… For the last two years, Chief Larson has been overseeing the construction of the Pioneer-Class Super Dimensional Fortress based on the SDF-3 design from the universe where Captain Wright and I came from."

He saw the hope in James's eyes and hated to dash them, "Unfortunately, she won't be fully combat-capable for at least the next twelve months at the earliest, which is too long to wait," Paul said with grim look on his face.

James was confused as he'd felt his excitement build at seeing the holographic projection of the ship and he wondered why the Admiral would show them this information to only drown their hopes unless…

"Sir, you said she's not fully combat-capable… Are you saying that the ship is able to fight?" James asked trying to keep his hopes in check.

Paul smirked at how fast his aide had picked up on where he was going, "This ship cannot space-fold and will having minimal manoeuvrability, but Chief Larson assures me that the main gun will be operational along with a good portion of her other primary and secondary weapons with limited shield capability."

"Sir, isn't it risky to jeopardize a barely completed ship in this manner?" Admiral Yai'hi asked again questioningly, studying the holographic projection over the communications link.

"It is a risk, but I feel we have no choice that we take some big risks at this juncture of the war," he paused for a second before continuing on, "I'm afraid that even with the addition of this ship and her firepower that the 7th Fleet will still be in hard against the enemy," Paul said in a grave voice.

Switching his gaze from the holographic projection back to the Admiral, Captain Dotzol spoke up, "Sir, I take it you have a plan?"

Paul suppressed a smile at seeing how quick his officers could read him, "Very astute Captain. I do have a plan and each of you will have a role to play in it. Captain Wright will take one of our heavier cruisers and rendezvous at the shipyard with Chief Larson… Captain Wright will take command of this new ship and use the cruiser to execute a space-fold to take both ships to the Sol System and support General Coulson. The new ship will already be crewed by the time you get there," Paul paused for a second as he looked directly at Wrights, "James, I know I'm asking a lot of you, but I know if anyone can pull this off, I know you can…you'll also have Chief Larson there to assist you, so don't be afraid to ask," he said with a smirk.

James nodded as he felt the responsibilities suddenly drop on him at what he was being asked to take on, but he didn't hesitate as he knew what was at stake, "Yes, sir! You can count on me to make it work," he said not holding back his enthusiasm.

Paul nodded as he looked towards the communication display, "Admiral Yai'hi…"

"Sir?"

"You are to take command of the 1st Fleet. My final orders to you are to commence immediate offensive operations against the Haydonite fleet base in the Menkab system. To make the enemy believe that I am still overseeing fleet operations, Captain Dotzol will ensure that my flagship is maintaining the same level of communications traffic to make it appear as if I'm still with the fleet…"

The other officers suddenly got confused looks on their faces at the Admiral's plan. They were all especially worried over the Admiral's use of the words "final orders". James couldn't let it sit as he spoke first for the other officers, "Sir, where are you going to be?"

Paul saw the concerned and worried looks, but this was beyond their comprehension and he couldn't explain it to them, even if he could find the words to, "I'm detaching one of the light cruisers, I have to go see someone to see if I can prevent a disaster from occurring," was all that Paul would and could explain as the visions replayed in his mind.

James heard it but couldn't believe it. He refused to leave it alone, "Sir, can't you tell us where you're going? Maybe we can help!" he said with nods of approval from the other two officers.

Again images danced in his head showing him so many different options and outcomes, but they always ended the same. _No…there is only one choice now_ , he thought as he felt the weight press down on him.

Paul appreciated the support and dedication of his officers and if there were any other way he would have taken it as a small sad smile came to his face, "No, James. This is my mission and I'm the only one that can walk this path," he said quietly.

 **oOoOo**

Faith felt the warming sun come through the open blinds and she fought the urge to open her eyes as her senses became aware of the shower running in the bathroom. As she woke up more, she recalled what had happened between her and Andy last night and a smile came to her face. Images danced through her mind as she recalled the passion they had shared.

 _Damn I do feel different_ , she thought as she stretched.

Trying to figure out why she was feeling so different from the night before. She thought that maybe it was because she had told Andy how she felt about him, but that didn't still explain the feeling. It took a long moment and she finally realized that she had let go of Paul along with all her dreams and plans she had built with him, but that still didn't fully explain what she was feeling. Thinking about Paul, her hand drifted down to her pendant, but when she didn't feel it where it normally should have been, she freaked out.

 _Oh hell!_ she thought with a sickening feeling in her stomach, quickly stumbling out of bed looking for her pendant.

"Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!" she muttered as she tossed the pillows, sheet and blanket off the bed to the ground to try and find the pendant. Dropping to the floor, she looked underneath the bed trying to see in the dim light if she could see the missing pendant.

"Screw this!" she muttered getting back up and lifting the bed and turning it on its side in one quick motion. She was so wrapped up in her search that she didn't hear the shower turn off. Her desperate search was suddenly interrupted by Andy's voice.

"Uhhh…is there something I need to know?" he asked in a hesitant and surprised voice at seeing a naked Faith tearing apart the bedroom.

"Yeah… I lost my pendant! I can't find my pendant!" she replied in a panicked voice.

Andy tried to keep any jealousy in check at seeing how attached Faith was still to the pendant that her former lover had given her. A small voice in the back of his head was telling not to say anything, but it was quickly brushed away that he had to do the right thing, besides she had told him her feelings for him and it wasn't like a deadman was going to coming knocking on their door.

"The chain must have caught on your shirt and broke last night. I found it on the floor when I was picking up our clothes. I put it on the table in the hallway," he said nodding his head towards the hallway.

Faith didn't say a word, quickly brushing past Andy towards the hallway. She quickly found the pendant, seeing that the clasp had broken. Grasping the pendant tightly in her hand, she found herself worrying about how bad the situation was.

Andy came over to her, "Can I take a look?" he asked.

Faith found herself strangely hesitant to hand over the pendant that Paul had given her, but she finally relented, watching anxiously as he checked the chain and clasp.

"Looks like the clasp broke off… I can easily reattach it," he said with a small smile, handing it back to her.

"Thanks," Faith said with a weak smile. She didn't tell Andy that she was more worried that she hadn't had the pendant on for god knows how many hours and that she'd been unprotected by the spell that Willow had cast to hide her from The First Evil and its servants. She debated whether to tell him that she'd probably been compromised and that she should probably leave, but looking at him and remembering what they had shared last night and how she'd finally put the past behind her helped to make up her mind about what she was going to do.

 _Even if I leave that doesn't mean that Andy will be out of danger. They'll still probably come here looking for me and we'll probably stand a better chance together than a part…_

She was struck by a brief passing thought of how many times she'd wished she'd gone with Paul and the others and had been there with him to face whatever had happened to him and the others. She quickly pushed away the thought as that was all in the past. Her concerns were of the present and any potential future that her and Andy might have.

 _If things are going to get bad, then this is where I'll make my stand…for better or for worse_ , she thought looking into Andy's face.

"Anything wrong?" he asked looking at Faith's face and seeing the strange concerned look in her eyes.

Deciding that there was no point in unnecessarily worrying him for the moment, Faith shrugged pushing any doubts and worries aside temporarily as she smiled softly and lied to him, "No, everything is five by five."

 **oOoOo**

Buffy was surprised to see Riley sitting in Giles's living room as she came in the door of the house. This added to her curiosity as to why she'd been urgently summoned here. She nodded her head slightly to her ex-boyfriend as she could easily read the pain in his eyes that mirrored her own pain. She had been aware that Willow and Samantha had been up in orbit with the space fleet when the Haydonites arrived. From what news reports that had been released about the orbital battle, there were rumors that a couple of ships may have managed to escape to Mars. There had been no word from either woman which gave Buffy no illusions about them being alive.

Buffy had thought that she'd become immune to the pain of loss after the Arcadia Expedition didn't return with her sister, Xander and James, then with Spike and Angel dying. She had become so wrapped up in just trying to survive and fight back the evil which seemed to be growing and threatening to consume her and those that were left that she had buried her pain and grief, focusing on just what she needed to do.

The invasion with Willow and Samantha's deaths along with news confirming the loss of everyone on the Arcadia expedition had torn open all the old wounds. As she entered the living room, she noted her Watcher's concerned and worried look. Giles had managed to contact her right after the Haydonite invasion, to break the news about Willow. He had tried to comfort her and get her to open up, but she had cut him off. She didn't want to discuss another friend's death, she only wanted to focus on and discuss what impact the alien invasion would have on them and what they should do now.

Giles kept a worried eye on Buffy as she plopped down in one of the living room chairs, betraying her exhaustion. He had been somewhat surprised by the apparent coldness Buffy had shown at the news of Willow's death, but then they had all become harder and colder over the years in order to have survived this long. He was still trying to come to grips with the events that had taken place and there had been the brief hope that the alien invasion would at least provide him and the others a respite in order to try and gather their strength, but the news that Riley had brought only seem to make the situation more dire for them all.

"What's the emergency?" Buffy asked in a tired voice, but her eyes were studying both men for any hint or indication of what was happening.

"I received a message from Faith… She said she's staying with a friend and that you would know who it is. Do you know who she's staying with?" Giles asked.

Buffy picked up the anxious tone in Giles's voice. Seeing the looks on both his and Riley's face gave her an unsettling feeling in her stomach, "Yeah, I know where she's staying. What's the problem?" she replied.

"Riley is better informed to explain the situation we face," Giles responded nodding to the other man.

"Thanks," Riley said in a hard serious voice, not taking his eyes off Buffy as he stood up, "We need to get a hold of Faith quick! Do you have a number we can reach her at?"

"No… I just have an address. There's a guy she's sort of gotten involved with," Buffy said noting the looks of surprise on both men's faces, "She told me about him just in case anything ever happened to her. He lives in some small town in Texas…Adamsville. I'll repeat my first question, what's the problem?"

Riley let out a deep sigh, "I'm not really sure what's going on, but I've gotten word from some of my sources that for some reason these Haydonite creatures are looking for Faith in a bad way."

Buffy's eyes went wide in surprise, "You're kidding…right? What would aliens want with Faith?" she asked incredulously.

"I wish I was," Riley said shaking his head, "Whatever is going on is serious… I've got groups of people reaching out to my sources to get us word about this."

Buffy took a moment to consider what she was hearing, "Could this be a trap? You know…to try and draw us out?"

Giles spoke up, "I expressed the exact same concern when Riley contacted me."

Riley nodded, "Yeah, I considered that they could be trying to bait us, but the number of people and sources that are involved… They're all of the mind that whatever the aliens want from Faith, we have to keep her from them at all costs."

Buffy again considered what she was hearing. She felt the weight of responsibility and exhaustion press down on her. There was a small part of her that wanted it to all be over. She was tired of the fighting and struggling to stay one step ahead of death. Her dreams — when she slept — were haunted by the faces of everyone she'd cared about that had died. A memory flashed as she remembered another time, another place where Spike had told her that all Slayers had a death wish.

 _He said that I had "ties to the world". Most of my ties are gone now_ , she thought tiredly.

"Buffy?" Giles asked in a worried tone, watching Buffy's face.

"Yeah," she said snapping back to the present, pushing away all the memories…at least for now, "I'll head down to Texas. Depending on the roads, it will probably take at least a day to get to her. I can bring her back here and we can decide what to do then," she said.

"No…" Riley said catching her by surprise, "I don't want to bring her back here and compromise this location, just in case it is a trap. I'm going with you because I want to talk to Faith in person...maybe she can give me some clue as to why these aliens are looking for her. I'll take her to LA."

"LA? That's a strange choice," Buffy asked curiously.

"I've got more contacts and resources there that I can use to hide her," Riley replied.

Buffy had her doubts, but considering what they were facing she found herself unable to come up with a better idea, "We've got a long drive, so we might as well get started," she said with a tired shrug.

 **oOoOo**

Buffy was surprised to find Andrew standing in the hallway outside the bathroom as she came out. She still found it surprising how much he had changed over the years. He had become Giles's assistant and right-hand man taking care of supplying and communicating with all the different resistance cells they had setup across the country. He was no longer that scared bumbling young man that fainted at the sight of blood. He now projected a serious professional demeanor that still seemed out of character for him.

"Sorry, did you need to use—" she started to say.

"No, I was waiting for you… I just wanted to let you know that I loaded extra Protoculture cells for yours and Faith's Cyclones in Riley's vehicle. I also loaded up extra missile reloads and a couple of Gallant energy pistols for both of you…just in case," Andrew said in a serious voice.

"Uh…thanks," Buffy replied, "That's a lot of firepower for just going to pick up Faith."

Andrew shrugged not betraying any emotion, "You can't be too careful these days, plus you are going to Texas…"

Buffy blinked as it took a moment for what he'd said to sink in. She then saw the beginning hints of a small smile on his face. She couldn't help herself as a smile started forming on her face while she shook her head slowly.

"I was wondering if you could still smile," Andrew said as the serious look in his face momentarily left, but then quickly returned.

"Thanks…I think," Buffy said as she started walking down the hall with Andrew keeping pace beside her.

"I'm sorry about Willow," Andrew blurted out causing Buffy to stop in her tracks.

Buffy looked at Andrew wondering if his statement was just the old Andrew that would say things at the wrong time, but she saw the look on his face and knew that he had said it purposely.

"Did Giles put you up to this?" she said with a sigh as she suddenly felt her eyes start burning.

"Sort of," Andrew answered, "He…we're both worried about you. We just want to make sure that your head is on straight and that you make it back."

Taking deep breaths, Buffy got her emotions back in control, "It's just a simple run and pickup. Riley and Faith will go to LA and I'll come back here…quick and simple," she said.

She saw a skeptical look pass over his face as he shrugged, "What? You know something?" she asked.

"Just rumblings from a few of my mystical sources," he said with a slight frown on his face.

"So what're these so-called rumblings?" she asked recalling the doubts and bad feeling she had earlier.

"Nobody is saying anything specific, but something is going on at the higher levels and with the PTBs… I just want you to know and have your head on straight just in case things…um…get worse."

Buffy considered what she was being told and took a moment to digest it all, "Thanks… I appreciate the head's up," she said with a small smile.

 **oOoOo**

Giles watched from the window as Buffy pulled away on her Cyclone with Riley following in his SUV. He didn't show any acknowledgement towards the other person that quietly came into the room, "Did you talk to her?" he asked with his eyes still locked on the Cyclone as it got further out of sight.

"Yes," Andrew replied.

"How is she?" Giles asked in a concerned fatherly voice as his eyes kept looking down the street even after the Cyclone had disappeared from his sight.

"She's barely hanging on, just like the rest of us," Andrew replied in a tired sad voice.

Staring at Giles's back, Andrew saw the Watcher's shoulders slump from the weariness and loss that they all had to deal with over the last few years. He carried his own demons as he still had nightmares of the FBI raid where Robin Wood had been gunned down in the street. He still carried the guilt that it had been his own bumbling and ineptitude that had delayed them from evacuating the safe house. He could recall every moment with crystal clarity as Robin looked at him — with no anger in his face — telling him to take the others to safety. He had done that and at the same time promised himself that he would dedicate himself to being the type of person that could do what was needed and make the ultimate sacrifice if required. He had confessed his guilt to Giles, begging the Watcher to train and educate him to be the person he had so many times dreamed of being when he was growing up. He found it strange. Now that the situation was dire, he was calmer and focused where as his younger self would have been scared and nervous looking for a place to hide to avoid the danger. His introspection was interrupted as Giles spoke up again.

"What do we do if the aliens find Faith?"

Andrew considered the question and ramifications. He had no doubt about Buffy and Riley getting to Faith in Texas, but the long term prospects of keeping her hidden from the aliens was problematic. Memories of how calm Robin looked in those final moments, knowing what was going to happen to him, replayed in his head and guided him. Andrew was not going to lie or sugar-coat the situation they faced. He just hoped he could remain calm and composed when it was his turn, "We keep fighting and we hope and pray for a miracle," he answered in a quiet serious voice.


	12. Taking a stand

**CHAPTER TWELVE:  
Taking a stand**

 ** _Species Identifier:_** _B511E6D4_ _ **  
Species:**_ _Human  
_ _ **Homeworld:**_ _Location Unknown  
_ _ **Technology Level:**_ _Protoculture-based  
_ _ **Threat Evaluation:**_ _Extreme  
_ _ **Notes:**_ _This previously unknown organic species arrived unexpectedly in the Tirol sector, our forces overseeing the planet were caught unprepared to deal with a force that appears to match us (and even exceed us) in certain technical areas. This species has displayed an alarming knowledge and use of Protoculture along with unprecedented willingness to share that knowledge with other organic species. This knowledge along with an apparent ability to organize the other organic species to engage the Hegemony in open conflict is of great concern and we must not underestimate the threat posed by this species. The normal protocol of attacking and either subjugating or exterminating the species' homeworld is unfortunately not a viable option as the human's homeworld location is unknown despite our best efforts. This along with our failure in the Optera system to hold/retake the planet or at least sterilize the planet, removing the Flower of Life, is a troubling development that may have negative long-term strategic implications in our attempt to suppress this organic rebellion. It must be noted that there are many within the Hegemony at various caste levels that are dismissive of the organics and this rebellion. The Hegemony must not underestimate the threat that this species with their technical knowledge and ability to organize represents. Discussions have been taken by the Adjudicator and Inquisitor sects as to what action or strategy to employ against this growing threat, with no new consensus arrived at other than continue to employ our standard battle strategies. From battle reports and interrogations of organic prisoners, we have identified the personnel in the main leadership caste of these humans. Though we are still having problems understanding and comprehending the thought processes, culture and strategy of this species it is apparent that they share many similarities with the other organic species we are familiar with. It should be considered that action be taken against the leadership caste which could be either direct, psychological or combination of the two. Further intelligence resources should be directed at gathering more detailed information about the main human commander {_ refer to section on Human Leadership Caste _} as he seems to be a main focal point of this rebellion..._

— Excerpt from a Haydonite intelligence report captured by Alliance Special Forces

 **oOoOo**

It took James a moment to regain his senses as the cruiser's bridge came back into focus from exiting its space-fold. He found himself anxious as he watched as the bridge crew recover from the transition back into normal-space, assuming their stations.

"Captain Wright."

James turned to face the Tirolian in command of the cruiser, "Yes, Commander Kor?"

"We've received permission to approach and take station off the shipyard. There's a shuttle in the main launch bay ready to take you across as soon as you're ready."

James had to keep his excitement in check as his eyes were drawn to the bridge's observation window. The orbital shipyard that was a hive of activity, but his focus was on the huge ship which was the center of this activity. Memories of the other SDF-3 flowed through his thoughts as he studied the ship's outline, growing larger as they got closer.

"Thank you, Commander. I'll head down now," James said with a small smile as his eyes shifted back to the Commander who returned the smile and nod.

 **oOoOo**

James had a professional neutral look on his face as he exited the shuttle on to the deck of the Super Dimensional Fortress. On the inside he was fighting to contain all his emotions that wanted to explode out as he experienced a sense of déjà vu.

 _It's almost like being back home…_

His excitement was also a result of fulfilling what had been one of his long dreamt goals. At one time his career had been his whole life. He now found himself in command of one of the most powerful warships in existence — even uncompleted. He was following in the footsteps of some of his heroes. There was a part of him that was giddy about it, but there were also the circumstances of why he was in command and what was at stake. His thoughts drifted to Buffy, and he found himself conflicted about how he could be excited and enjoying this moment despite knowing what was going on back on Earth.

James pushed those thoughts aside as he saw Chief Larson coming towards him. He noticed the tired look on her face, but she had a small smile as she stopped and came to attention with a crisp salute.

"Welcome aboard, Captain."

"Thanks, Chief," James said returning the crisp salute, "What's your status?"

Larson observed the Captain projecting the standard neutral command face, but she could read the excitement in his eyes, "I can brief you on the way to the bridge… I assume that's where you want to go first?" she replied with a small knowing smirk.

James couldn't help himself as he smiled, "Don't tell me that mind reading is one of your skills, Chief?"

"Only one of many, sir," she replied with a bigger smile as she led him from the hanger bay.

 **oOoOo**

As they made their way down the ship's corridors, James noted the unfinished portions of the ship and the work crews that seemed to be everywhere. He waited until they were on the elevator to the bridge to voice his observations and concerns.

"Chief, I want your honest opinion… Will this ship be able to fight in her current state?"

He was surprised as the Chief let out a deep sigh and pressed a button on the elevator control panel, abruptly stopping it between decks. She turned and met the Captain's eyes, "Do you want the 'official' word or my honest opinion?"

"I need to know what we're capable of doing," James said returning Larson's look without blinking.

Larson sighed again, "I don't know what the Admiral was thinking when he came up with this plan, but he's asking a lot of us and this ship. The power system for the main gun hasn't even been tested at full power yet… we might be able to fire or we may fry out the system after one shot. We don't have any maneuvering capability to speak of. I've rigged a shield system to protect the ship's critical areas, but if we end up in slugging match with any of their dreadnoughts…"

James grimaced as he could easily picture what the Chief left unsaid. His initial excitement of taking command of the ship was now tempered by the realization they would be going into battle in an unfinished ship, "Anything else?"

"Sir, I've got all my work crews, plus the ship's crew working as hard as possible to get her into some sort of combat-shape. If we only had more time… a couple of more weeks."

It was James's turn to sigh, "I hear you Chief, but time is the one thing we don't have. General Coulson is determined to launch a counterattack ASAP to not give the Haydonites time to dig in and get a planetary defense system in place."

"Yes, sir. I understand that… There is one thing we can do to help our situation," Larson said.

"Whatever you need… I'll see what I can do… within reason you understand," Wright replied.

"Well… I've been thinking about our maneuvering problem… That cruiser… the _Fantoma_... that you came in on. She was already going to accompany us to Earth as we were using her space-fold engines to make the jump…"

"What do you have in mind, Chief?" Wright asked with a grimace, unsure if he wanted to hear the answer.

Larson grinned at seeing the pained expression on the Captain's face, "Well sir, they are both Robotech ships… I thought that I would take a page from the old SDF-1. It won't be pretty, but I think I can make it work."

 **oOoOo**

Andy made sure that his 9mm Beretta was tucked into his pants, behind his back, as he went to answer his front door as the doorbell rang a second time. It wasn't that he was expecting trouble, but in these uncertain times it didn't hurt to be prepared. He'd estimated the potential risk being low because if it was looters or anyone trying to scavenge supplies, they wouldn't have bothered ringing. Just to be on the safe side, he took a quick peek out one of his front windows as the doorbell rang a third time. He was a little surprised to see a young couple standing out front. He easily recognized that the man, despite trying to look casual, was military or had a military background. In comparison to the man she was standing next to, the more diminutive blonde woman caused Andy to raise an eyebrow as something about her tried to grab his attention.

After taking another moment to decide that the couple didn't appear threatening and make sure they were alone, he went to answer the door. As he opened the door, he noted the surprised looks on their faces, he made sure he kept his right hand behind his back… just in case.

"What can I do for you?" Andy asked in a causal friendly sounding voice, but his eyes again darted to check the surrounding area for any threats.

"Are you Andy?" the blonde asked catching him by surprise as she asked for him by name.

His senses heightened as his pulse quickened as he didn't recognize them and they were at his door asking for him by name. He was debating about whether to brush these people off when a voice behind him caught him by surprise.

"What're you guys doing here?!"

Andy turned, seeing the puzzled look on Faith's face. His head whipped back to the door as the blonde responded, "We came here to find you."

 **oOoOo**

Andy studied the two people sitting in his living room talking to Faith as he came back from the kitchen carrying cold drinks. Most of his attention was on the blonde woman. Faith had talked about Buffy occasionally, but it was still a surprise that the slight woman was a Slayer like Faith. It was only when he looked at her eyes that he saw the pain and hardness in there and who and what she was sunk in. From what Faith had said about Buffy and from what he could observe in their body language, it was obvious that there was an undercurrent of tension and a long history between them.

Faith gave Andy a nod as she accepted the beer from him and watched as he served another beer to Riley. She couldn't help herself as a small smirk started to form as Buffy accepted the glass of lemonade. Faith tried to recall the last time she'd seen her fellow Slayer have anything containing alcohol. Shaking off those thoughts, her concentration flipped back to Buffy and Riley. She found herself puzzled along with a growing worrying feeling in her stomach as tried to figure out why the two of them had shown up here. She'd fought the urge to jump right into the matter as Andy went and played the good host, getting everyone drinks. Her gut was telling her that whatever was going on affected him too and he deserved to be included in the discussion.

As Andy took a seat on the sofa beside her, Faith decided it was time to stop with the idle talk and get to the matter, "You guys said you were here to find me. You found me, so what's up?"

Riley didn't waste any more time, "We came here to get you. I need you…" he paused as he glanced towards Andy with an obvious suspicious look on his face, "… to come with me."

The nagging feeling in Faith's stomach continued to grow as she felt Andy's body stiffen next to her at Riley's pronouncement. Questions filled her head along with the worried feeling.

Buffy had to resist the urge to slap Riley on the side of the head for his cryptic response. She understood why he was being careful of saying too much, but she also knew how Faith responded to being left out or being the last to know. She figured that if Faith was spending this much time here, then she trusted Andy. Buffy decided to head off any potential problems seeing the worried, puzzled look on the other Slayer's face, "What James Bond here is trying to say is that it looks like the aliens have been asking questions about you. We came here to warn you and get you to go with Riley. He wants to get you to a safer place and hide you from them."

Faith sat there stunned as this was the last thing she'd expected. She found herself doubting she'd heard Buffy correctly, "Y-You're kidding, right?" she asked questioningly. When she saw that the serious looks on the others' faces didn't change, more questions filled her head, "W-Why? W-Why would aliens be looking for me?" she asked. She was caught off-guard as she felt Andy's hand grab hers, but then relaxed as she felt his comforting squeeze.

Riley resisted the urge to sigh as Buffy violated operational security without the slightest trace of concern. He had wanted to avoid saying too much in front of this Andy person. It wasn't that he didn't trust him, but he had no reason to trust this stranger, plus it was better to minimize how much anyone else knew if the aliens traced Faith back here. He saw the look on Faith's face and the way Andy and she were holding hands and he suddenly had a change of heart, "We're not sure. I've heard from a number of sources that the aliens have been asking a lot questions about you. They seem to know who and what Slayers are, but they seem really motivated to find you."

"So what's the plan?" Faith asked.

Riley didn't hesitate, "We get you out of here and to somewhere that these Haydonites can't find you. We try to find out why they want you so badly and maybe figure a way that we can use it against them."

Faith didn't know whether to laugh or cry. The thought of trying to hide from a bunch of space aliens would have seemed crazy a few weeks before. She suddenly felt bone-tired as the thought of having to hide not only from The First Evil and all its allies, but now invading aliens weighed on her. Again she felt Andy's comforting squeeze as they turned and looked at each other. She saw the worried look on his face as they shared small smiles between themselves.

Andy turned to Riley and Buffy, "When do you have to leave?" he asked.

"The sooner, the better," Riley replied, "My sources traced Faith to Texas and have a general idea of the location to start looking. They're trying to delay giving the aliens any usable info for as long as possible, but…"

"Yeah, I know. Time isn't on our side," Andy said finishing the statement.

While Andy and Riley were talking, Faith found her mind filled with different thoughts and feelings as she tried to grasp that she was now not only a wanted fugitive by the US government, but by aliens too. Before she'd given it any real thought the words came from her mouth, "Andy can come with us?" she asked questioningly.

The statement caught both Riley and Andy by surprise. Buffy wasn't as surprised as she'd been studying the couple and their body language, "It shouldn't be a problem to hide one more, shouldn't it?" Buffy asked.

Before Riley could reply, Andy spoke, "I-I can't leave… My family and others around town are depending on me," he turned to face Faith hating what he was saying as he felt his emotions getting pulled in all directions. He'd had to fight his first instinct to say yes as thoughts of what might happen to his family, friends and neighbours that would be left behind came to the forefront of his thoughts, "Besides I think Riley here has only made plans for you."

Faith had to fight back the flash of anger that threatened to erupt as she bit her tongue to not say the first words that came to her. Counting to ten, she calmed down enough to think more rational. She couldn't blame Andy for not wanting to leave everyone else. It had always been easy for her to just drop everything — and everyone — and just take off. At least it had been easy until Paul and now Andy.

 _It would be just easy to run away and hide… I've been running and hiding for so long now… I'm tired of it all…_

Thoughts of Paul drifted through her mind mixing with the image of Andy standing in his doorway as she drove away. She felt a sudden wave of anger grow inside her, overcoming her weariness. She found her anger focusing into stubborn determination as she quickly decided on what she was going to do.

"No," Faith said in a quiet determined voice.

"What?" Andy asked missing what she'd said.

"You heard me," Faith said, her voice sounding even more determined and angry as she stood up heading for the kitchen, "I said, no. I'm not going anywhere…"

 **oOoOo**

James pushed through his tiredness as he kept his eyes glued to the bridge monitors as Chief Larson's voice echoed through the bridge.

"One hundred meters… Ninety meters… Eighty meters… Fantoma, you're coming in too fast. Two second burst on reverse thrusters."

James felt the sweat running down his back as the Fantoma acknowledged the command.

"Looking good… Cut your thrusters… Fifty meters," Larson said in a calm detached voice.

Suddenly the SDF-4 shuddered slightly as the cruiser docked with the battle fortress. Before he could say anything, Larson's voice again called out, "We have hard dock! EVA crews, you have a go! Secure the Fantoma. Engineering crews, as soon as the air lock is green, start running cables and conduit. I want to have direct bridge access within the hour. Understood?"

James couldn't help but smirk as he saw the satisfied look cross Larson's face as acknowledgements filled the communication channels.

"Good job, Chief," James said standing up from his bridge chair, making his way over to the huge bridge observation window. He watched with fascination as space-suited crews swarmed over and between the two docked ships — like ants climbing over giants — working to secure both ships and run connections between them.

"Thanks, Captain. It's not pretty, but we'll have propulsion and the Fantoma's shields give us increased protection on our starboard aft sections."

"Hey, any improvement over us drifting in space is preferable, plus we'll have the Fantoma's missile tubes to add to our firepower," James replied with a smile.

Larson chuckled as she watched her crews working hard. There was a long moment of silence between the two of them as they watched the operations continue outside. They were lost in their thoughts with the noises of the bridge and bridge crew working fading to just a background noise. Each of them looked upon the work taking place, realizing that everything was leading up to taking an unfinished, untested ship into battle to save an adopted homeworld they hadn't seen in years.

James broke the silence between them, "Buy you a cup of coffee, Chief?"

Larson smirked, "Yeah, that sounds good, Captain."

 **oOoOo**

The Captain studied the Chief as she sipped her coffee across the table from him, "You've been wanting to ask me something ever since I got here?" James asked.

Larson arched an eyebrow in surprise at seeing how well the Captain could read her. She gave him a good look over. She was struck by how much the Captain reminded her in some ways of the Admiral when he was younger, but without all the drama that seemed to follow him around.

"Permission to speak freely, sir?" Larson asked as her voice took on a more serious tone as her worries and concerns came to the forefront.

James nodded, noticing the slightly relieved look on the Chief's face as he did.

"What in the hell is the Admiral thinking?!" Larson asked trying to keep her voice at a level that wouldn't be overheard by the other tables.

James let out his own sigh as he shrugged, "I don't know… He's got something up his sleeve, but he hasn't told me much."

"I can understand that we're facing the proverbial desperate situation here, but I would've thought he would be here to command this ship… considering what's at stake," Larson said shaking her head in disbelief.

"To be honest, I'm as surprised as you are. When I saw the plans for this ship, my first thoughts were that Admiral Coleiro would be in command."

"Did he say anything… give you any hint as to what he was going to do?" Larson asked in a worried voice as she found it hard to keep her concerned and worried thoughts in check anymore.

James shook his head slowly as he was also worried, recalling the Admiral's words from that last meeting, "No, all he said was that he was going to take a ship as he had to go see someone to prevent a disaster."

Larson got a stabbing feeling in her gut along with her hackles rising. She'd known the Admiral for years and he never made frivolous statements or went for the high drama… at least not intentionally. She hoped the growing bad feeling she was getting wasn't an omen as thoughts raced through her head.

James saw the concern on the Chief's face that mirrored his own feelings. He did have one bit of information, that had taken some digging and calling in some favors to get, that he could share with Larson, "I did manage to find out where he was heading to before I left,"

"Where?" she asked in a surprised and curious voice.

James still had no idea what the Admiral was planning or hoping to achieve at his destination, but he knew the Admiral wouldn't have gone there unless he had a good reason.

"Optera…" he said in a quiet voice.

 **oOoOo**

Buffy waited a few minutes before following Faith into the kitchen. She found her fellow Slayer with her back to her, looking out the kitchen window and popping the cap off another bottle of beer.

"Come to change my mind?" Faith asked as she turned around to face Buffy.

"Wouldn't think of it… I've learned by now that trying to talk you out of something is an exercise in futility," Buffy replied with a small smirk as she leaned against the kitchen counter across from Faith.

Faith couldn't help herself as a small smile grew across her face, "Smart girl… So, why did you come in here?"

"I just wanted to check that you were sure about your decision. I also figured you might want someone to talk to…" Buffy said with a small shrug of her shoulders, "You're sure about this?" she asked.

Faith let out a weary sigh, "Yeah, I'm sure about this. I'm tired of the running and hiding… If I'm going to go down, I'm going to have some say in it."

"You know what will happen to Andy and the people around here if the aliens find you, don't you?"

Anger flashed across Faith's face at the question, "How is it any different if I go off with Riley? I..." Faith paused as she took a deep breath to push away the anger as she realized that Buffy had asked a valid question, "We've lost too many friends and people we care about. We both know that it's only a matter of time before we're gone… I can see it in your eyes too," she paused as she turned briefly to look out the window again, "I want to spend whatever time I have left with Andy… He's been the one good thing to happen to me since Paul went away. Besides, if those aliens do find me, I'll lead them away from here… I'll make sure that Andy and the people around here aren't caught in the crossfire."

Buffy didn't reply as she met the other Slayer's eyes. Memories and images of all the people she'd cared about flowed through her head. She understood Faith's reasons and if the positions had been reversed, she would probably make the same decision. She was tired of the running, hiding and losing people she cared about.

 **oOoOo**

Riley had followed Andy outside, there was some awkward silence between the two men. Riley sipped his beer hopping that Buffy would talk some sense into Faith and get her to see it was important that she come with him. He was just as puzzled about why the aliens had singled out Faith, but deep in his gut he knew that everything — the fate of Earth and the human race — was reaching a crucial tipping point. His thoughts about the planet and humanity changed to thoughts about Samantha and what had happened to her. He realized that he hadn't properly grieved yet for her. He was still numb and in shock, refusing to believe that she was gone. Even with what they were up against and the odds they faced, there had been a hope he'd buried deep that they would prevail and be back together one day. Now that hope was gone and all he felt was emptiness and a building rage inside him. He wanted to strike back and hurt those that had hurt him and those he cared about, but he wasn't allowed that luxury… at least right now. His thoughts and feelings were suddenly interrupted as Andy spoke, "How bad is it?"

It took Riley a moment to shake off his feelings before he could reply, "It's bad all over… The info I have is that the aliens have established bases around the world. They've built… camps to collect people. We don't know what the purpose is for. We've only heard rumors… stories, nothing confirmed, but…"

Andy shuddered as every endless horrible possibility took a hold of his imagination. He tried to shake off the imagery as he changed topics, "So you think our only chance is for Faith to go with you?"

"Yeah, we need to keep her out of their hands and figure out why they're focused on her. Maybe you can talk to her… try to convince her to change her mind."

Andy snorted trying not to burst out laughing, "Change her mind?! Someone convincing Faith to change her mind?!"

Riley couldn't help himself as a big smile grew on his face as what he'd said sunk in, "Yeah, Faith can be… a little stubborn, so can Buffy. I think… it's a Slayer thing."

Andy chuckled at Riley's use of words, but his smile faded away as the sober realization of what they were facing sank in, "They're going to find her… they're going to come here and take her away and do God knows what to her," he said in a quiet sad and angry voice.

Riley wasn't going to pull any punches, "Yes."

"She'll fight… we'll fight them," Andy said in a quiet determined tone.

"I know… but there's only the two of you," Riley replied. He understood the other man's feelings and frustrations. He wished that the situation was different, and that they had other options.

Andy heard the other man's words. His mind was a jumble of feelings, thoughts and ideas. He knew if he asked his neighbors they would help him, but he couldn't ask a bunch of civilians with only a bunch of handguns and rifles to make a stand against the aliens. They didn't have the organization or firepower to make a difference. It was at that moment that the idea hit him and he focused on the idea. It seemed so outlandish and crazy, but they didn't have any other choices and until he asked he would never know.

"What if we had more people and heavier firepower?" Andy asked in an excited voice grabbing on to his new found idea like a rescue line.

Riley figured that Andy was talking about asking the locals for help. Throwing a bunch of civilians with small arms at the aliens was nothing but a recipe for a massacre. He was going to say no, but something in Andy's face and tone made him curious about what the other man was thinking, "What did you have in mind?"

As Andy explained his idea, Riley's eyes went wide in shock and surprise as this was the last thing he had expected to hear.

 **oOoOo**

Buffy and Faith were coming out of the kitchen as the two men rushed back into the house. The women were immediately on alert for any threats, but they eased off seeing the excitement — rather than alarm or fear — on Andy's face.

"I've got it! I've got a plan!" he said excitedly as a smile came to his face.

Faith shook her head, "I told you I wasn't leaving…"

"I know that, but I think I have an idea how we can keep you safe or maybe at least deter anyone from coming to take you away!"

Both Slayers looked at Andy strangely and then at Riley, who while didn't have the same excited look at least wasn't as glum looking as he'd been earlier, "Hear him out. It's a crazy idea, but with Faith not wanting to leave this is our only option to try to keep her safe… for now."

Buffy and Faith both mirrored Riley's initial reaction as they listened to Andy's plan. Faith was the first to react, "You're crazy!"

Andy smiled, "Yeah, but what choice do we have? Riley and I will head over to Fort Hood to talk to my friend Mike. I know I can get him onboard with our plan and once we do, it's just talking and convincing enough people to join us."

Buffy was shaking her head, still in disbelief with the idea that Faith's boyfriend had come up with, "We've spent almost the last five years hiding from the government and now you want to bring them in… to fight with us."

Andy nodded as he realized how his plan sounded, "I know the mindset of a lot of those guys. They're frustrated and pissed off that we lost a war without barely putting up a fight or making those damn aliens pay. Their focus will be on the aliens… not on some woman wanted by a government that just surrendered. I'm not saying we're going to get all the units from Fort Hood or even a complete formation, but any help is better than none. Plus Mike has a lot of contacts with the Texas National Guard… I can guarantee you that a lot of those guys are looking to kick some alien ass."


	13. Revelations and Decisions

**CHAPTER THIRTEEN:**

 **Revelations and Decisions**

" _…There is still much debate among scholars and pundits about how much President Kinsey collaborated with the Haydonites during their occupation of Earth. There is no argument about Kinsey's involvement and complicity with Wolfram & Hart and The First Evil, but from a historical study perspective his involvement with the Haydonites is clouded. When the organic processing facilities went on-line and people were being shipped to the camps, there were heated cabinet discussions about what to do and whether it would be better to go down fighting than have the population submit to the choices of slavery and processing. Whether it was his own survival instincts or his exposure to the Haydonite's forces and power — especially after the terror destruction of several world cities in retaliation for resisting — that influenced his decisions will never be known. Either way, the President ordered that there would be no resistance to the Hegemony. Fortunately, there were enough citizens and members of the Armed Forces that decided they would rather go down fighting…_"

— Excerpt from _"Puppet or Master? The Life of President Robert Kinsey"_

 **oOoOo**

As President Kinsey watched the people exit the cabinet room, he showed no outward sign he was a man filled with mixed emotions. On one hand, everything — for him — couldn't be going better. He was no longer hamstrung or constrained by any laws or institutions with the Haydonites now firmly in charge. The First Evil had already informed him where Faith Lehane was hiding. He now had something to leverage with the aliens to strengthen his position.

On the other hand, he had learned from The First Evil and his own backchannel sources that some members of his government were working to hide her from the Haydonites. He was already putting together a list of those in his cabinet, government departments and agencies he could no longer trust and would need to remove. He planned on having the Haydonites deal with these traitors. A small cruel smile betrayed the mental images that danced through his head of what would happen to those that had dared betray him.

The cabinet meeting had included the latest intelligence briefing on the alien occupation. Despite the lack of satellite coverage and intermittent communications, the intelligence people had gathered enough intel to detail a harsh image of what was happening to the people in the areas where the Haydonites had established bases. There was limited intel on what was happening to the people that had been rounded up and taken inside the camps. The information available only hinted at a darker and more horrific picture of what was going on inside there.

Harsh words had been exchanged in the cabinet meetings. Some members argued that the government should encourage and help the resistance rather than meekly submit to being culled like farm animals. Others argued against active resistance on the reasoning it was better to take a long term approach and save some of the human race. Kinsey had sat back to watch the two sides argue while he studied those that advocated resistance or remained silent during the vitriolic debates.

In the end, he'd spoken up supporting the status quo side. That the Haydonites had been ruthless and efficient in suppressing any sign of rebellion was an understatement. The reports and lists of towns and cities, around the world, being bombed or destroyed was long and continued to grow, which he used to underscore his decision. He emphasized that protecting the existing power structure and as many citizens as possible was preferable over mass casualties with no chance of success.

Despite his decision, heated words continued to fly. Some members of the President's inner circle continued to argue that resistance wasn't a futile endeavor as they used the Middle East as an example of where the Haydonites were encountering problems. Kinsey had to try not to laugh at the irony when he heard the reports that the Israeli Defense Force, Hamas and Hezbollah were working together against the aliens. Reports had the IDF supplying the weapons while Hamas and Hezbollah were carrying out suicide attacks against alien personnel and installations with mixed results. Kinsey reminded the pro-resistance side of the reports that the Haydonites were taking reprisals against both the Jewish and Arab civilian populations for their continued resistance.

As Kinsey made his way back to the Oval Office, he was still trying to figure out how he could play the information he had about Faith off against the Haydonites. He wanted to maximize his return as he didn't know when he would get another opportunity like this. He toyed with the idea of keeping his enemies around for now, turning them in later to gain further favor, but he had to balance off the risks involved. The President had barely settled back behind his desk when the intercom buzzed.

"Yes, what is it?" Kinsey barked showing his irritation at being disturbed.

"S-Sir, Rector Nunan is here to see you," replied the weak-sounding voice.

Kinsey took a deep breath to get himself ready for another meeting with his alien overseer, "Send the Rector in! Don't keep him waiting!" he barked, cutting the line as his assistant tried to stutter out a reply.

Kinsey took another deep breath to gain his composure as his office door opened and Nunan glided in. The President stood to greet the Haydonite, making sure he had his best politician's welcoming smile showing, "Rector, this is a surprise! What can I do for you today?"

The Haydonite cared little for these types of trivialities, especially with organics, but he understood his liaison role overseeing the President and making sure he co-operated until such time he was no longer needed by the Hegemony. Nunan got a growing pleasurable sensation at the thought of this organic being taken away for processing. He made a mental note to ensure he was present when it occurred.

"I have come for a status report on your search for the Slayer, Faith Lehane. Prelate Dejan is most anxious that she be located… his patience does have its limits," Nunan said making sure he emphasized the implied threat.

Kinsey kept his smile in place even though his stomach was jumping. He knew that he was playing a dangerous game, but he needed to ensure that the payoff was worth the risk he was taking hiding the Slayer's location. He was still curious over the aliens' obsession to locate this particular Slayer. Granted he wouldn't shed any tears when she was in their hands and they went to work on her. At that thought he made a mental note to ask if he could watch their interrogation of her. Pushing down his growing excitement at the mental image, he focused on this intricate dance he had put himself in, "I still have my people looking for her. We have a few leads that are being followed up on. We're hopeful we'll get a break any day."

Silence filled the Oval Office and Kinsey started to feel self-conscious and uncomfortable looking at the Haydonite. The alien's eye was pulsing and glowing almost as if the creature was seeing through his deception. Nunan spoke breaking the unnerving silence, "I will relay this information to Prelate Dejan. He may want to speak to you in-person about the situation to express his… displeasure."

Kinsey had to fight to keep the smile on his face and not lose his nerve. He quickly decided to change the tone of the conversation, _Time to offer up a few sacrificial lambs…_

"I understand and can empathize with the Prelate wanting this matter dealt with most expeditiously. I didn't want to say anything until I had more information," Kinsey said as his smile faded to a small frown.

"What is it?" the Haydonite demanded.

"I didn't want to bother you or the Prelate with a problem with my people. I had hoped to resolve the issue quickly and quietly in-house." Kinsey said emphasizing the frown even more as he easily fell into the role.

"What is the problem?" the Haydonite demanded, this time not holding back his growing frustration at having to interact with organics.

"I believe some of my people know where Faith is and are working with a resistance movement to hide her from you."

"Who are these people? What steps have you taken to deal with this rebellious behavior?" the Haydonite demanded as its single eye glowed brighter.

"I have people loyal to me watching the suspects as we are trying to determine how many are involved and what they know. When the time is right, I want to roll up the whole network. We'll destroy the resistance and gain the information to the Slayer's location," Kinsey said as he flashed a small predatory smile at the alien.

There was another long pause before Nunan replied, "We accept your explanation… I will relate your situation to the Prelate. Is there anything that the Hegemony can do to assist you in this internal matter?"

Kinsey had to fight to keep his knees from shaking as his gamble worked, "Not at this time, but I may ask that when the time is right, if you could provide troops to take the traitors into custody. I want to make sure we conduct ourselves in the spirit of co-operation."

"We would be most glad to provide you any assistance… in the spirit of co-operation," the Haydonite replied, "Is there anything else?"

Kinsey didn't know whether this was the time to push his luck, but he didn't see another opportunity like now to gather more information.

"Well, I did have a question?" he asked using a reluctant submissive tone.

"What is your question?"

"I know that you have had your own troubles dealing with Slayers, but why the focus on her?"

"That is not your concern," Nunan said in a tone implying that this was not up for discussion.

"Y-Yes, yes, of course… the need for operational security, etcetera. I understand completely," Kinsey replied in an apologetic tone. He decided to try a different approach, "If I may ask, what are you going to do to her when she is located?"

Nunan took a moment as he considered the question. He decided that there was no harm in revealing the Hegemony's plans for the woman, "She will be transported to our homeworld. Once there she will be interrogated to provide crucial information..."

 _Information? What information did she have that they would want? What does she know?_ Kinsey thought trying to not show his puzzlement as Nunan kept speaking.

"… Once we have gained everything we need to know, she will be modified," Nunan said warming up to the topic. There had been many discussions between the Adjudicator and Inquisitor sects with numerous simulations run for this scenario. A surge of excitement and joy flowed through him at the prospect of what would happen when they finally had _his_ woman in their grasp.

"M-Modified?" Kinsey asked in a confused voice.

Nunan continued on as he forgot who he was talking to, "We have learned much about your human anatomy. She will be modified to serve the Hegemony… she will be used as an example to all those that oppose the Hegemony. She will pay the price for his resistance…" Nunan paused as he tasted how close they were to success.

 _With her under our control it will take away their greatest commander and cause upheaval in their command structure which will slow or delay their offensive. That will give us the time to finish developing our new weapons. Then the organics and their pitiful alliance will be eliminated…_

If the Haydonite had been capable of facial expressions, he would have been flashing an evil looking smile in anticipation of what they were planning. He continued on not really giving any concern as to what he was saying, "… Despite everything he has done to us… everything that he has cost us. He will only see that he failed to protect _her_. He will witness her pain and experience helplessness and despair… he will be crushed psychologically buying us the time we need."

The Haydonite looked at Kinsey. Seeing no reply or any further questions he turned to leave, "We expect you to deal with your internal problems quickly, as our patience has limits. Your priority is to find that Slayer!" Nunan said as he left the Oval Office without any further thought or concern about the organic.

It took all of Kinsey's will power to wait until the door closed before he showed any emotion. He fought to stay on his feet as his legs turned to jelly. His stomach felt as if it had been kicked, fighting back the growing nausea as his mind played over the alien's words as their meaning and implications sank in. His mind was overflowing with thoughts and emotions as he staggered back to his desk to sit down to regain some semblance of composure. He found his careful plans turned upside down as his mind raced as he fought the urge to scream in frustration. A part of him tried to deny what he'd heard. He desperately wanted to slough it all off to just misinterpreting what the alien had said. Despite how tantalizing that path looked, his well-honed survival instincts were screaming at him that he'd heard correctly and what Nunan had said was true. His mind raced as he tried to deal with the implications of this sudden revelation, but it was hard to focus as other thoughts bounced around.

 _T-They lied! Those alien bastards lied! That bastard Coleiro is somehow still alive and they want that bitch Slayer to use against him!_

 **oOoOo**

Lieutenant General Mark Chambers listened intently as the commanding officer of the 1st Cavalry Division continued with his briefing and outlining his plan of action. Chambers took a moment to let his eyes drift around the conference room. He saw the array of staff officers from the base command staff, the 1st Cav, and III Corps, which he commanded. His eyes locked on the Staff Sergeant and two civilians that were standing at the back of the room trying hard not to be noticed among the sea of officers. It wasn't long before his attention snapped back to the speaker at the podium as he realized that General Pauling had finished speaking.

Chambers took a moment to gather his thoughts as he replayed the presentation and briefing in his head. His first instinct was to call everyone crazy and tell them that this was all a wasted effort. Something made him hesitate as he looked around at the faces of the men and women in the room. He saw the anger and shame radiating from them. He sympathized as he saw them grappling with the same inner turmoil he had that they had somehow failed in their oaths and duty to protect the country and the people. It burned in his stomach that the planet had surrendered to the aliens, but he knew that they'd had no choice as the aliens would have devastated the planet from space. He just didn't know if he could handle and cope with being occupied and forced to live under alien domination. The intel reports he was getting on what was happening where the aliens had landed wasn't sitting too well with him either. What he'd read didn't bode well for the future of the human race.

"So let me understand what you're proposing… You want to take an Armored Brigade Combat Team to Adamsville and setup a defensive perimeter there?" Chambers asked still trying to wrap his head around this request.

General William Pauling looked a little hesitant as he listened to the commander of III Corps ask him — in basically the same words and tone — what he'd asked Colonel Weir when he had approached him with this situation, "Uh… Yes, sir."

"And the primary mission for all this is to provide force protection for one person? Not the town or its local population?" Chambers asked again as his eyes drifted to the Sergeant and civilians. This time they noticed his gaze and started to fidget as they realized that they were under _his_ microscope.

 _It must have been one helluva sales job to convince Weir and Pauling to buy into this_ , Chambers thought as his attention turned back to General Pauling.

"Yes, sir. I can have lead elements of my 1st Brigade on the road within an hour of you giving the word. I can have the rest of the brigade on the road several hours after that," Pauling replied.

"How long do you expect to be in Adamsville?" Chambers asked.

Normally General Pauling had no problem sounding and projecting confidence and self-assurance to any plan he was presenting, but with this he was drifting into unknown territory. This plan smelled of desperation and had too many variables and unknowns. It had seemed all straight forward when Colonel Weir had come to him with this plan. It had given him something to grab on to rather than dwelling on the fact that the United States of America was nothing more than a defeated and occupied country.

"Um… We're planning for our deployment to last for seven to fourteen days, but we're… um… not quite sure… sir."

"General Pauling, you do realize that our current orders are for all units and equipment to remain on base… And that we are not to engage in any kind of maneuvers or any activity that could be construed as hostile or provocative towards…" Chambers trailed off as he couldn't find it in him to finish the sentence as he again felt the building helplessness and anger.

Pauling didn't hesitate, "Yes, sir. Colonel Weir and I both understand what we're proposing and the risk we're taking. We've talked to all the men and women in the 1st Brigade and they are just as pissed off as you and I. They want to do something, anything that will hurt and stick it to those alien bastards. If you'll pardon my tone, sir."

A smirk formed on Chambers's face. It quickly faded as the realization sank in that he was being asked to commit men and women to a course of action where they might not be supported and their lives would be in jeopardy. He needed to know why this was so important to have some consolation at giving his permission. His gaze returned to the Sergeant and two civilians, "I take it that you're the one's responsible for instigating this whole mess?"

Staff Sergeant Mike Dixon took a long gulp as his eyes met the General's stare. He was still surprised at how easy it had been for his old friend, Andy, to explain the situation and convince him to help. Dixon had planned on asking for a just a few "volunteers" — maybe squad or platoon-size — then "borrow" a few weapons and vehicles and head to Adamsville. He still didn't know how Colonel Weir found out, but the next thing he knew, he was being summoned into the Colonel's office and called on the carpet. He decided to be honest and explain the situation. Everything then took a strange turn, with the Colonel asking to meet with Andy and the other guy — who Andy had only introduced as Riley — to hear from them. Events then made a sharp left turn into the Twilight Zone as the Colonel had all of them accompany him to General Pauling's office. It wasn't long after that the General was calling in his officers and NCOs to gauge their thoughts and feelings. That was followed up by several hours of planning by the brigade command staff to come up with an operations plan to move the whole 1st Brigade to Adamsville.

He was about to accept full responsibility, for creating this situation, when a voice beat him to the punch, "Sir, I'm the one responsible for getting Staff Sergeant Dixon involved with this. He's a good friend, and I asked for his help."

Chambers eyed the civilian that had spoken up, "What's your name?"

"Andres Rodriguez, sir."

"You serve?"

"Yes, sir. Marines, sir!" Andy replied, straightening himself up to stand a little taller.

"Well, we won't hold that against you, son," Chambers replied with the wisp of a smile. His comment brought a few chuckles from the assembled group of Army personnel. The smile quickly faded.

"Rodriguez, you're asking all of us here to put our asses on the line for one person. What makes this person so valuable?"

"Sir, I won't lie or beat around the bush. Faith is important to me…" Andy had to pause. He wasn't so sure about how professing his love for Faith would go over with the General and the other officers. Before he could say anything else, Riley stepped in.

"Sir, these aliens are looking for Faith. I don't know why and neither do my sources, but they're looking specifically for her. If they want her, then we need to keep her from them. She can be kind of stubborn and she's refusing to leave Adamsville. The plan is to protect her until we can convince her that it's in everyone's best interests to leave and go into hiding somewhere else."

"And your name is?" Chambers asked looking the man over.

Riley sighed as he wasn't sure how this would go over, "Riley, sir."

"Just Riley?" Chambers asked, his eyes narrowing.

"Finn… Riley Finn," Riley answered with another sigh.

Riley's response immediately started murmuring among the officers as some of them recognized his name and who he was. Chambers gave Riley another hard look over before speaking, "According to the President and a few others, you're a traitor," he said in a hard tone.

Riley wasn't going to waste time arguing. The stakes were too high, and he honestly didn't care anymore what other people thought of him.

"That's his opinion… one I don't agree with, sir," he said making sure that the disdain in his voice was clear as he didn't turn away from the General.

Chambers took a moment to mull over the situation as he continued to study the two civilians, "Finn… you served under General Coulson?"

Riley took a deep breath as old memories and a promise he'd made played through his head, "Yes, sir. He was a great man, and it was an honor to serve with him."

"I was at the Academy with him. He only picked the best to work with him," Chambers said in a quiet voice that seemed to echo in the now silent conference room.

There was another long moment of silence before General Chambers broke it, "General Pauling… Colonel Weir, you have permission to deploy 1st Brigade to Adamsville."

Chambers looked at the two civilians as he directed his next comments to the room, "I don't know how long we can stay there and I don't know what we'll face, but we will not back down at this time when our nation… when our people need us!"

 **oOoOo**

Paul acknowledged orbital control as he set his Alpha on a re-entry path into the atmosphere. The surface of Operta loomed large not only in his sights, but in his thoughts. The commander of the destroyer that had brought him here had offered him the use of a shuttle, but he declined because he wanted to fly down. He wanted the freedom of flying. He didn't know what he would face when he got down to the surface. Whatever happened, he wanted to experience space along with the bite of gravity and atmosphere under his control one last time.

As his Veritech shook from the buffeting, as it entered the planet's atmosphere, Paul glanced up. He glimpsed the small fraction of ships and orbital installations that surrounded the planet. Operta was one of the most heavily defended planets in the Alliance. It was the only known place where the Flower of Life, which was the source of Protoculture, grew. Countless Invid Mollusk-class carriers filled with mecha drifted in orbit, protecting their homeworld along with Alliance ships and installations. Those carriers were just a small representation of the strength that the Invid had at their disposal. Unfortunately the Alliance wasn't able to tap into all that strength because of the Haydonite PSI jamming technology which blocked the Regess's telepathic link with her people. The Alliance was still working on counter measures to overcome the jamming, but so far they had hit a wall. Tashe's PSI abilities could overcome the jamming, but she was limited in the numbers of Invid ships she could control. The jamming could only be overcome if the Regess was in proximity to her forces. The downside of bring her into a combat zone was if she was killed or captured, the blow to the Alliance would be more than it could handle.

Thoughts about the tactical and strategic situation were minor whispers compared to his thoughts and worries about Faith, Earth and what awaited him down on the surface of the planet. Images of what The Shapings had shown him still haunted him. That was why he had come here, he had no more options or cards to play.

As he began his final approach towards the main hive complex, where the Regess was located, the beginning twinges of regret pulled at him. There were so many things in his life he wished had turned out differently. He snapped out of it as he realized that if he'd changed anything, he wouldn't have met Faith. Even though he was on the other side of the galaxy, facing the ever increasing probability he would never see her again, he never regretted a single moment with her. This hadn't been the life he'd planned or wanted when he brought the Arcadia to this region of the galaxy, but it was still his life. He took full responsibility for his decisions and actions along with the consequences that followed. He was the main commander and architect of the Alliance fleet and its campaign against the Haydonites, he didn't have time for any pity parties. That still didn't stop him from replaying his last time with Faith over in his mind. That last time was burned into his memory and soul. When they had said goodbye, he'd promised that he would return. It was a promise he'd swore that he would keep, but circumstances and a galaxy spanning war had made it difficult — if not impossible now — for him to keep.

As he taxied up to the main hive entrance, he saw a small group of Invid gathered to meet him. A stage-four Invid led the group. As Paul powered down his Alpha and exited his craft, he couldn't help but dwell on the fact that only a few years ago, he and the Invid — at least the ones from his home universe — would have been trying to kill each other rather than greet each other like this.

"This way Admiral Coleiro… The Regess is expecting you," the large humanoid-looking Invid said with a low respectful bow of his head.

Paul would like to have said he was surprised, but then he'd learned that there wasn't much that got past the Regess. He nodded as he followed the Invid into the hive.

Paul was again surprised as he realized the Invid wasn't leading him to the Regess's main chambers as he expected. The sense of foreboding, that he had when he landed, increased as they took corridors that led deeper under the hive. He lost track of time with no idea of how far down they had gone when the corridor finally opened into a huge chamber. The chamber was big enough that an Alpha in Battloid mode could move around with lots of headroom clearance. Paul's eyes were drawn to the large pool in the center of the room. It would have looked like a normal reflecting pool, but in this case the "water" gave off an eerie glow that provided the light for the chamber. A voice startled him changing his attention and focus.

"Welcome Admiral Coleiro," the Invid Regess said as she moved out of the shadows towards him.

Paul studied the tall humanoid woman that came towards him. This wasn't his first time meeting her, but each time he was struck by the power and beauty she projected. Along with that power and beauty, he couldn't help but note the sadness that seemed to hang just behind her eyes. He'd read the intelligence reports from both the Zentraedi and Sentinels about the Regess from his universe. That Regess was in complete stark contrast to this one in her behavior and attitudes.

"Thank you. It would appear that my arrival was expected," Paul said with a small respectful nod. He was again surprised as he could have sworn he saw the wisp of smile appear then fade from her face.

"You are always welcome among the Invid. If it was not for you and the others, I would still be a prisoner and my children would be lost to me. We would be adrift without purpose and unable to achieve our destiny."

Paul couldn't hide his awkwardness with the hero praise, "Uh, yes. Well I must admit that liberating Operta wasn't completely a selfless act," he replied with a small smile. Despite the smile, his uneasiness and anxiety continued to grow as they danced around the real reason he was here.

Again Paul saw the small smile flash across the Regess's face, "We are glad to share access to the Flower, you have earned the Invid's trust and respect," she paused as she studied the human, "But you are not here to exchange pleasantries?"

He appreciated the Regess for dispensing with the small talk, but he still felt a huge weight on him, "No… I wish I was here for that," he replied taking a deep breath to help him relax, "Is there nothing you can do to help?"

The Regess gave him a sad smile, "I have shown you The Shapings… They showed you what would happen if you had returned home. You would have lost everything you loved."

"And that's why I never went back! I stayed here! I kept my people here in this part of the galaxy and we fought this war!" Paul took another deep breath to keep his growing frustration in control.

The Regess gave him another sad smile, "I showed you what the Flower, and The Shapings needed you to see… the path you had to take. You decided to try to find another way."

"And we have those bastards on the run! We're going to beat them!" Paul exclaimed.

The Regess shook her head sadly, "Even now the Haydonites are building weapons of terrible destructive force… They might not defeat us, but they can cause death and destruction on an unimaginable scale that will drag us down with them."

"Damn it!" Paul swore loudly forgetting about "diplomatic niceties", "Everything I did was to protect Faith and Earth and now you're telling me it was all in vain? And how in the hell did the Haydonites find Earth in the first place?"

The Regess ignored Paul's outburst, "There are agents of the Shadows everywhere. They have seen what I have foreseen and they seek to prevent it."

"Prevent what? What is so freaking important?" Paul exclaimed.

"The evolution of the Invid…" the Regess replied.

 **oOoOo**

Paul tried to wrap his mind around what the Regess was telling him, "So-So all this… this war is to keep you from evolving?"

"Yes, partly. The Haydonites by the path they chose have reached the limits of their evolution. They are afraid of the power of Protoculture and they fear what we will become if we transcend and evolve into a higher form of existence."

Paul wanted to call bullshit, but he could feel it in his blood and soul that what she was saying was the truth, "Okay, but there must be something you can do to help?" he pleaded.

"We Invid are not like the Invid in your universe. Our histories have diverged and the circumstances that set the other Regess on her path never occurred here," the Regess paused letting out a deep sigh as old memories and feelings replayed through her head, "I met Zor when he and his people visited our planet long ago. I developed deep feelings for him and changed my form to be more pleasing, but unlike what happened in your universe with the Robotech Masters and Zentraedi coming and taking the Flower away from us. My Zor never returned to betray us. The Haydonites came instead and occupied our planet, but it was what you might call a benign occupation to keep us placated. I and my children are not driven by the same hate and desire for revenge."

Paul wanted to scream in frustration, "Tashe, isn't restrained and you helped to defend your planet when the Haydonites tried to retake it! Why can't you be like that?"

"She still carries the imprint from her Regess, but it is not strong enough to give all of us what we need. You have given us the knowledge and technology to defend our planet now and we will, but we are not the Invid you _need_ us to be."

"I never thought I would say this, but I wish you guys were the same blood-thirsty, single-minded obsessed species I knew and feared," Paul muttered.

"You can change all this… You can save not only those you care about, but all the others and help us to our evolutionary goal. You need to follow the path and accept your destiny!"

Paul shook his head, "What can I do? Why does it have to be me?"

The Regess's eyes glowed as she spoke, "Because you have taken the Flower of Life… It flows through your blood, it has chosen you!"

Paul wanted to argue, but looking into the Regess's eyes he knew that she was right. He could feel his blood burning. He glanced towards the glowing liquid in the center of the chamber. It seemed to glow even brighter now.

"W-What do I have to do?" he asked resigning himself to what he needed to do.

Another small smile came and went from the Regess's face, "You must ingest the petals of the Flower one more time and give yourself to the Genesis Pit."

Paul again looked at the glowing liquid. He found himself drawn to it in a way he couldn't explain, but there was a part of him that fought it. It was as if there was an animal, inside him, fighting to escape… trying to ward off its own death.

"I-I'm afraid…" he said in a quiet voice as he continued to stare, trying to fight the hypnotic call of the Genesis Pit.

"That is the part we need… We need to experience all the emotions… the fears and joys… the love and hate. You can be that conduit. I have touched your mind and have seen what the Invid is to evolve to… to transcend to. Without that the Invid and all of you face nothing but shadows and darkness," the Regess said in a quiet soothing voice.

Paul could now see that his whole life had led up to this point… this decision. He found himself wanting to give in, but there was still something holding him back.

"Faith…" he said in a quiet whisper.

"You know what will happen to her if you do not do this," the Regess replied in a soft voice.

 _My journey is over… It's not the Viking funeral I had planned for_ , he thought filled with resignation.

Paul's eyes burned as he nodded, his blurred vision still locked on the Genesis Pit. The Regess moved to stand beside him. She held out her hand, in it was dried leaves that Paul recognized. He took the leaves without saying a word and ate them. Suddenly the glowing liquid seemed to radiate a rainbow of colors. He looked into the glowing eyes of the Regess. He didn't feel as afraid, but there was still that pain… that desperation inside of him he thought would never go away.

"I promised her I would come back to her," Paul said in a quiet sad voice. He looked at the Regess one last time, "What will happen? What will I become?" he asked trying to find a ray of hope as the realization sank in and his inner turmoil faded.

The Regess spoke, but this time Paul could hear her soft soothing voice in his head as the leaves' effect took a stronger hold of him, _"I will not lie to you. Your current existence will come to an end. Even I do not know what you will become. Everything you are will transcend your current existence. You will be transformed into what the Flower and The Shapings require."_

Paul nodded and removed his uniform, leaving it on the chamber floor behind him as he hesitatingly moved towards the beckoning glowing liquid. Pausing at the edge of the pool, he tried to focus, but his head was spinning from the torrent of thoughts and feelings. It was hard to grab a hold of any one of them to focus on. He slowly put his foot into the glowing liquid. It was warm and his whole body felt as if an electric current was flowing through it. He warily moved further into the liquid and his body sank deeper into it.

Suddenly he was pulled under, downwards toward the bottom. There was still a part of him that tried to struggle against the inevitable and his arms flailed about in an attempt to get back to the surface. His lungs were burning as he tried to fight the urge to breathe in.

Pulled further downward, the pressure increased on his lungs. It was harder to focus and know what was real and what were dreams as images filled his mind. He saw his family… They were decorating the Christmas tree in their home in New Macross, before Khyron's final attack. He saw Sonia's face as she smiled at him from across the table while they were studying in the Academy library.

Darkness was moving into his mind and thoughts as his lungs felt as if they would explode soon. He wanted to keep struggling, but his mind and body was shutting down. It was strange to know that he was dying and rather than panic or dread, a sense of calmness and peace he'd never known before flowed through him. Thoughts of Faith filled his mind in these final moments. He wished he could have seen her one last time… to hold her… to tell her he loved her.

He no longer had control of his body and he felt himself drifting away. It was as if he was outside his body looking at himself. All around him the liquid of the Genesis Pit pulsated. It was strange but he could feel the pulsating and he thought he felt a rhythm in it. In that moment, it was if the universe was opening itself up to him to tell him its secrets. Another vision came to him and he saw a huge column of pure blinding energy rising from a planet, climbing higher and higher into space. It suddenly transformed, becoming a huge bird… a phoenix of pure energy, extending its wings and letting out a cry that could be heard across the whole universe.

As the final darkness descended upon Paul Coleiro, he had time for one last thought… One last testament of what he cherished most in all of existence in that hope that the universe, God or whatever was waiting for him would hear it.

 _I love you, Faith…_


	14. Traitors and Criminals

**WARNING: Some Sexual Content and Strong Language**

 **CHAPTER FOURTEEN:  
Traitors and Criminals**

" _…The arming of the Invid was one of those no-brainer decisions that required little thought or debate. It was hoped that their active participation would turn the tide of the war and bring it to a quick resolution. The REF's database on Invid weapon systems and ships proved invaluable in building up the Regess's forces. They didn't hesitate to use their knowledge and information as not only did they provide the designs, technical information and support, but they made numerous modifications and improvements to those designs. An example of this was the Mollusk-class Carrier used to transport Invid mecha. The original ship design incorporated no weapons and the crew of the ship was considered expendable after launching their mecha. The new version added plasma point defense weapons and missile launchers that contained short-range anti-mecha/anti-aircraft/anti-ship missiles. Along with the addition of these weapons, shielding technology was incorporated to add to its survivability. Improved command and control capabilities were also added to the class design in the hopes of integrating the ships within Alliance task forces to provide for better co-ordination with the fleet. Unfortunately, due to the PSI jamming employed by the Haydonites, these ships could only be used in limited numbers, outside the Operta system, with negligible impact on the war effort..."_

— Excerpt from _"Weapons of the Haydonite-Alliance War"_

 **oOoOo**

It wasn't the rumble of heavy vehicles going by that woke Andy. As he rolled over in bed, his subconscious mind knew he was now alone and stirred to tell him. As his eyes opened, he confirmed what his subconscious had been telling him. A frown quickly appeared as he became more awake and tried to listen for Faith moving around the house. It was hard as another army convoy was driving by, but as the sound of the vehicles faded away, he still couldn't hear anything from her. He got out of bed, pulling on some shorts in his half-awake state, stumbling out of the bedroom to find her…

Faith sat in a lawn chair, watching as the morning sun rose higher into the sky. She'd lost count of how many times she'd watched sun rises, but this one was different. It hadn't been any threat or the constant traffic of army vehicles rumbling through town that had woken her. She'd suddenly sat up in bed, wide awake as if she woken from a nightmare, but rather than fear she was overcome with an intense feeling of emptiness and loss. She'd looked worriedly at Andy, but he was still in bed beside her, asleep. As she became more awake, she tried to recall what she was dreaming about that could have caused this, but the dream had already slipped away from her and all she had was a fragment… a vision of brightly lit water, almost as if it was glowing.

She couldn't go back to sleep as the feeling refused to leave her, and she found herself sitting outside waiting for the sun to come up. It bothered her this time because she'd had nightmares and visions before. This was something different and even as the time went by the emptiness still lingered, refusing to let go, which made it worse.

"You okay?"

She'd heard the back door open and knew Andy was checking up on her. For a moment she wanted to tell him what she was experiencing, but decided he wouldn't understand and didn't want to worry him, "Yeah… I'm fine. I couldn't sleep," she replied in quiet distant tone.

A worried frown crossed Andy's face as he picked on the tone in her voice. They'd exchanged a "few" words since Riley and him had arrived back in town with a military convoy in tow. Both Buffy and Faith had been surprised by the US military arriving in town. While Buffy was ambivalent about the military presence, it hadn't taken Faith long to figure out — after Riley had fumbled his explanation of why the army was in town — that this was all a ploy to get her to leave and go into hiding with him.

"If this is still about us, bringing the army here… despite whatever Riley planned, I only did this to protect you," Andy said in an apologetic tone.

"Huh? Uh… no, it's not that. I just couldn't sleep… that's all," she replied in a distracted voice as she kept watching the sun rise.

Andy couldn't stop his worrying. He studied Faith for a long moment as she sat there staring at the rising sun, "Why don't you come in… I'll fix you a cup of coffee and some breakfast."

It took another long moment before Faith registered what he'd said, "Thanks, maybe in a bit," she said in a quiet voice, her eyes still locked on the sunrise.

 **oOoOo**

"Oh, Mr. President, this is your wake up call…"

Kinsey shot upright in bed as the voice caught his attention, "Y-Yes, w-what is it?" he croaked out trying to shake off the effects of a night of heavy drinking. He found himself staring into the grim looking face of The First Evil that was assuming the image of his Presidential predecessor. He tried to remember what he'd done last night while trying to shake off his growing hangover.

 _I haven't gotten drunk like that in years… Not since college_ , he thought as he tried to cut through the alcoholic haze.

"Bob, I know things are looking bad, but you have to watch what you're doing… There are even limits on what the President can get away with these days," The First said shaking his head slowly.

"W-What?" Kinsey started to say, but it suddenly all came back in flash. His head whirled towards the bondage rack he had set up in the Presidential quarters to use for his personal entertainment purposes. The naked body of one of his secretaries hung lifelessly still tied spread-eagle to the rack. He couldn't see her face, but he saw the belt still wrapped tightly around her neck. He tried to fight back the growing horror he'd gone too far this time.

 _I was angry and upset about what those damned aliens had let slip… I just wanted to feel better and let loose some steam…_

The First saw the look of shock on Kinsey's face. The dead secretary and the eventual questions that any investigation might bring didn't bother him. Kinsey was just a means to an ends, and he'd known that Kinsey was a sexual sadist. That had been one of the things that had made it easy to recruit him… that and his hunger for power. There were other more important things occurring that demanded more immediate attention.

"Bob! Get a hold of yourself! You've come too far to fall apart now!" the First snapped trying to get him out of his growing shock. The First didn't need a hysterical President added to his growing pile of problems.

"You can get rid of the body later! We have more important things to deal with!" The First hissed at the President.

It took a moment, but Kinsey finally shifted his eyes away from the body. As he regained his composure, pushing away the remnants of the alcohol's grip on him, he nodded slowly, "Y-Yes… O-Of course, you're right. What is it you want, Master?" he stammered out.

"Bob, you need to get cleaned-up and dressed. I need you down in the Situation Room, looking and acting Presidential."

Kinsey's eyes darted back to the woman's dead body. Images of what he'd done last night became clearer which started the stirrings of arousal and desire, "W-What's the problem?" he asked worriedly as he tried to keep a lid on his urges.

"We have a situation and it involves that Slayer our new friends are looking for..." The First replied in a cold tone.

 **oOoOo**

By the time Kinsey had cleaned up and changed, The First had updated him on the latest developments of what was happening in Adamsville. When he'd reached the Situation Room, he had shaken off the effects of his binge drinking. He'd pushed any thoughts about the dead secretary, out of his head, as his focus was now on full-damage control mode. His thoughts and worries were on containing and fixing this situation and not have it blow up in his face. Upon entering the Situation Room, he noted that the Joint Chiefs of Staff and his National Security Advisor were already sitting, waiting for him.

Everyone stood quickly as they could easily discern that the President wasn't in a good mood as he entered and took his seat at the table. They waited for him to signal for them to sit, but he sat there looking them over as they stood there. An awkward and uncomfortable silence filled the room.

Kinsey finally spoke, his harsh words cutting the silence, filling the room, "What the hell is going on with _my_ military?"

"S-Sir?" One officer asked in a confused voice.

"I mean, I thought I was the Commander-in-Chief and I thought my orders were for our troops to stay on their bases and not to leave except under my orders?"

"Y-Yes, sir! Those were your orders!" replied the same officer, still confused about what was going on.

"Then why," Kinsey took a deep breath, "THE HELL AM I FINDING OUT THAT MY OWN SOLDIERS ARE DEPLOYING AGAINST MY ORDERS AND WORKING WITH TRAITORS AND CRIMINALS!" his angry shrieks bounced off the walls causing everyone standing to wince.

The Chairman of the JCS had caught wind of rumblings about something happening in Texas and had decided to keep the info quiet to see how it played out. He now found himself wanting to tell Kinsey to do something anatomically impossible, but caught himself as he did his tightrope act, "Mr. President, maybe if you can give us some idea of what you're talking about. As far as I'm aware all our troops are still on their bases," the Chairman lied displaying his best poker face.

Kinsey glared at the General, "Then maybe you should double check with your staff. My sources are telling me that troops from Fort Hood have deployed to Adamsville, Texas. Not only have _my_ soldiers left the base against _my_ Executive Orders, but they're also working in league with that traitor Riley Finn and both those bitch Slayers," he said angrily.

The Chairman's face dropped in shock as he hadn't heard about these details, "I-I don't know… T-This is the first I've heard about this!" he stammered out.

"I don't give a damn what you know or didn't know! What I want is you to get whoever the hell is in charge of Fort Hood on the line right now! I want to find out what the hell is going on and I want Faith Lehane in our custody along with everyone else before the end of the day! Do I make myself clear, General?" Kinsey said making sure that his tone implied that there would be severe consequences for everyone.

 **oOoOo**

The last thing General Chambers expected to experience today was a call from the President. He was still trying to come to grips that President Kinsey was calling him directly as his assistant transferred the call to his phone, "Good Morning, Mr. President. This is an unexpected plea—"

Kinsey didn't even let him finish with the pleasantries before ripping into him, "General, I don't know what kind of half-ass operation you're in charge of there, but I… the country doesn't appreciate our military men taking action that could be considered treasonous!"

Chambers heard the President's anger as it reverberated through the phone. He closed his eyes for a moment and took a deep breath before replying. He recalled the oath he took when he received his officer's commission. The last part seemed appropriate and poignant now.

 _So help me God…_

"Sir, I must respectfully ask you to explain what the purpose of this call is?"

Chambers could almost swear that he could hear Kinsey vibrating trying to keep his voice in control, "General, you will carry out the following orders. One, you will take into custody Faith Lehane who is in Adamsville along with all her associates and accomplices. Two, you will withdraw all troops deployed in Adamsville back to Fort Hood. Failure to carry out these orders within the next hour and I will have you replaced with someone there that will carry out my orders. Do you understand?"

Chambers took another deep breath as he tried to think of something meaningful and appropriate to say at a moment like this. He found himself lacking the eloquent words that better men than him had uttered at similar points in human history.

 _I guess I'll just have to go with the classics…_

"Mr. President…"

"Yes?"

"Go fuck yourself…" Chambers said with a smirk as he hung up the phone.

The General sat there, staring at his phone, experiencing a moment of surrealness as it seemed so unreal what he'd just told his Commander-in-Chief. He would have laughed, but the reality and seriousness of the situation came crashing back down. He realized that he'd made his choice and things were about to get real. Picking up his phone, he quickly dialed the extension to the base's Operations Center.

"This is General Chambers… I want a LERTCON 1 flash sent out to all units ASAP! Yes, you heard me! Also get a hold of General Pauling and Colonel Hall and have them meet me in the Operations Center in ten minutes. Inform the base communications center we are now in lockdown condition! No calls in or out without my or the base commander's sign-off!"

Chambers didn't wait for the acknowledgment as he hung up the phone. His mind switched gears to plan for what he had to do next in his unplanned and growing insurrection.

 **oOoOo**

Colonel Weir had given up on getting any proper sleep and had to satisfy himself with the occasional catnap. His command post, which had been setup in the middle of Adamsville, was now the center of an intense flurry of activity. Everyone there had been privy to the calls he'd gotten from General Chamber and then President Kinsey. Luckily he'd received the call from the General first, to warn him and which helped prepare him for the second call. He still couldn't believe that for the first time in his career, the President had contacted him directly. He'd been a lot more polite than General Chambers had been in his response to Kinsey's orders, just replying, "I respectfully decline to carry out those orders, sir."

For a part of him, it had been hard to say "no" to his Commander-in-Chief as it flew in the face of his life-time of training and discipline. The only thing that consoled him was recalling the discussions about ethics and doing what was right and lawful in his Military Law course from his academy days.

 _I can always argue that my orders were unlawful and immoral at my court-martial… if I survive to have one_ , he thought shaking his head tiredly.

The Colonel pushed aside thoughts about court-martials as his focus returned to the map in his CP that showed the deployment of his forces in and around the town. He had early on decided that putting all his units in the town was too much of a target. His headquarters unit, service battalion and two armored battalions were deployed for the defense of the town's perimeter. His supporting artillery battalion was deployed several kilometers away to provide fire support to the area. Also attached was his other armored battalion to provide force protection for his artillery and act as his brigade reserve. The brigade's engineering unit was hurriedly preparing fighting positions for the tanks, AFVs and artillery. Weir had deployed the majority of his air-defense capability to cover the town with the reminder covering his artillery positions. He wished he had access to air support.

When Weir's brigade arrived in Adamsville, they had caught the locals by surprise. Even though Weir knew his primary mission was to protect Faith, he swore to himself that he wouldn't abandon the local population either. He let word leak — even if not completely true — that the army was there to protect the town. This quickly brought around the locals, and they opened their homes to share what food, water and other supplies they had on hand. Those civilians that had access to earth moving equipment and back hoes joined to help the engineers with the preparation of defensive positions.

After his short and career-ending call with the President, he had put the brigade at REDCON-2. He had his recon group — 1st Squadron, 7th Cavalry — out getting a lay of the surrounding terrain and helping the artillery to pre-register areas for fire… for when the enemy arrived.

Rubbing his eyes, Weir studied the map looking at his unit deployment. Despite the operational plan they had thrown together back at Fort Hood, this whole mission smelled of desperation. He understood the reasons, and he hadn't argued with them as he had the same burning to desire to fight back and hit the aliens rather than just meekly submit. He would've liked to have had more time to prepare and more troops and equipment as he had no idea what they would be going up against.

That was the one bit of good news in this whole Charlie-Foxtrot mess. General Chambers had told him he was scrambling everyone that could carry a weapon and putting them on anything that had wheels or tracks to reinforce him. The downside was that it would be several hours before the lead elements of the reinforcements would be here. His attention was drawn to his command post's entrance as the people responsible for his and his unit's being here entered. Weir studied the group approaching him. His gaze went to the blonde and brunette.

 _So they're Slayers… Who would have thought_ , Weir thought as he appraised the two women approaching with Riley and the other civilian.

"Colonel Weir," Riley said coming to a slight attention, out of old habits, in front of the senior officer.

"Finn, Rodriguez, ladies," Weir said with a small nod to acknowledge the two women, "It looks like the shit is about to hit the fan… I don't know how, but somehow the President found out about you and our little operation here."

Finn showed no emotion, but you could see his mind at work, "What are you going to do?"

Weir let out a deep sigh, "We're here for the duration… I had just hoped that we could have kept our presence quiet longer. I've stood the brigade to at REDCON-2. I've talked to General Chambers, he's scrambling everything and everyone he can get his hands on and he's coming to reinforce us, but we won't see any help for several hours."

"How can we help out, Colonel?" Buffy asked catching Weir by surprise.

"Help? We're here to keep her safe," Weir said pointing at Faith, "I don't know what you can contribute to our forces?" he added in a cautious tone.

Faith fought back a wave of anger at the soldier's dismissing of their offer. She heard the tone in his voice and could feel the guilt being leveled at her… that she was responsible for everyone being in this predicament.

 _I didn't ask for any of this! I just want this to go away! I just want to be with Pa— I mean Andy!_ she thought angrily.

She was about to say something, but Buffy had read her and headed off her outburst, "You know that Faith and I are both Slayers…"

"Yes, but I don't see how that will help in a fight against aliens," Weir replied trying to not sound to condescending.

Buffy tried not to roll her eyes as she saw the anger flash in Faith's eyes, "Well besides us being Slayers, it so happens that we both have access to a pair of those Robotech Cyclones. You know, the ones that turn into battle armor. We're also very good at using them," she said with a small smirk.

Weir's tired eyes went wide at hearing this, "Y-You're kidding, right? You've got Robotech weapons! Why the hell didn't you tell me this before?"

It was Riley that replied, "We try not to advertise that we have them. You know, operational security and all that," he said adding his own smirk.

Weir was too tired to argue further about not being informed of these "assets" they had access too. To know that they had some Robotech weaponry — not a lot by any stretch of the imagination — but it would add to his force strength. He hoped that these two women would at least try to follow orders.

 **oOoOo**

As Willow entered the bridge of the Arcadia, she reminisced about the last time she'd been here. Her mind replayed the memories from years ago as she looked over the bridge area. It was buzzing with activity. She was a little surprised to see that not all the bridge crew was human as there was a mix of "people" from the other species that made up the Alliance. A familiar voice interrupted her thoughts.

"Hey Will!"

Willow turned to see Dawn approaching her. She still found it hard to see Buffy's baby sister all grown up now. She had to admit that Dawn looked good in her uniform. An air of confidence and competence radiated from her that seemed to be the opposite of the Dawn she remembered.

"Hey Dawn or should I be calling you Lieutenant Summers," Willow said with a small laugh.

Dawn couldn't help herself as she laughed too. It helped to break the tension and nervousness that hung over her and everyone else as the fleet made final preparations for the spacefold back to Earth and engage the Haydonite fleet.

"It seems these days I'm more used to being addressed by rank, but for you either one works," she said with a smile, "It's been a while since you've been on the Arcadia," she added.

"Yeah, it feels different somehow," Willow said looking around the bridge again.

"This old ship hasn't changed much except for some upgrades to her weapons and shields."

"I'm surprised to see a mixed crew. What happened to everyone?" Willow asked as she noted all different races represented in the ship's bridge crew.

Dawn shrugged, "Well a lot of our old crew are mixed through the Alliance fleet in command and support positions or involved with training. We've also had to replace those we lost in this war…" she said as the tone of her voice changed and her face took on a somber look.

Willow's thoughts went to Anya and her husband. She couldn't help but notice how much Dawn looked like her sister at this moment.

 _Fighting a war across a good part of the galaxy, she's probably seen more than her fair share of death and destruction…_

Willow knew that she would get a taste of what Dawn had experienced when this fleet arrived back at Earth. She found she wanted to change the tone of her thoughts and this conversation, "So what is it you do here?"

Dawn's small smile returned and Willow's smile returned too as the younger Summers excitedly dragged her over to her station on the bridge. Willow listened intently as Dawn explained that she was in charge of ship's communications and sensors. As Dawn explained her role, what she did and how many people she was in charge of, Willow became more impressed at how far Dawn had come and felt a huge burst of pride for her and what she'd become.

"For the life of me, I would have never figured you for a career military person," Willow said with a smirk. She was caught off-guard as the somber look returned to Dawn's face and she let out a sigh.

"This wasn't what I had in mind when I joined up, but we're doing the right thing out here. It's just that sometimes I—," Dawn never finished her thoughts as General Coulson entered the bridge followed by Aaron.

"Commander on the Bridge!"

Willow was surprised by how quickly Dawn and the other bridge crew came to attention. She was again surprised to see a blonde-haired woman with a camera crew following behind the two men. As Coulson strode across the deck to his station, she saw the woman and camera crew setup in a corner of the bridge trying to stay out of the way. Suddenly feeling a little self-conscious, she tried to not think about the woman and camera as General Coulson waved everyone to resume their work as he took his seat.

"Sorry Will, but duty calls. I got to get to work," Dawn said with a shrug as she made her way over to the General's station to bring him up to date on the latest fleet communications.

Willow followed from a discreet distance, listening in as Dawn gave her status report. Her respect for Dawn grew even more, seeing how professional she was in her work. She found it hard to believe that this was the same Dawn she'd watch grow up in Sunnydale… the one always either being klutzy or getting into trouble.

She watched Dawn finish her report and turn to leave, walking past Aaron back to her station. A small smile came to her face as saw the two of them brush hands and exchange quick smiles as she went by him. Her thoughts turned to both Kennedy and Samantha. Even though she and Samantha had said their goodbyes, she couldn't help but worry about her ex-lover. She found she wanted to say something more to Samantha, but she was on one of the planetary assault landing ships. General Coulson had given her a special mission to perform once the Marine division landed on Earth. Willow had already seen Kennedy off. Even though Skull Squadron was based on the Arcadia, the fighter squadron was busy with pre-spacefold briefings and flight checks. She would only get in the way down on the flight deck and distract Kennedy which was the last thing she needed. Her thoughts of the women in her life were cut-off as General Coulson stood up to address the bridge.

"Everyone… For a lot of you here, today is just another day that we take back a Haydonite-occupied world and kick their asses. For myself and the rest of the humans on the Arcadia and in this fleet this day is more important than that… This is the day we go home."

Willow felt a lump in her throat as the bridge filled with cheers and growls of approval from the many species that manned it. Before she could give it anymore thought Coulson's voice cut through the noise.

"Helm, set course to our spacefold point coordinates! Set for best speed!"

"Coms, inform the fleet to form up and make for the fold point!"

Willow watched and listened as the crew acknowledged and went about their work. Her excitement grew as the ship vibrated slightly as it engaged engines and started moving.

 _This is actually happening! We're finally going home!_ She thought trying not to fidget in her excitement.

As the Arcadia made its way to the coordinates where the 7th Fleet would execute its spacefold, Willow's excitement suddenly changed to anxiety as time seemed to crawl. Her thoughts and concerns switched to the people they had left back on Earth and she mentally urged for the ship to go faster.

 _Hang on guys… We'll be there soon!_

 **oOoOo**

As Faith went out the backdoor of Andy's house, the late morning sun and heat hit her. She was thankful that the designers of her Cyclone armor had made it so it kept the person wearing it comfortable. The heat still had some effect on her, but she knew that her armor's environment systems would keep her cool once she put her helmet on. Any further thoughts about the weather were interrupted as Andy spoke.

"You're looking pretty bad-ass, if I do say so."

Faith couldn't help herself as she snorted and smirked at his complement, "Thanks. You're looking pretty military yourself too."

Andy smiled as he stood up straightening out his BDUs and checking his gear, "Yeah, despite all this soft living, all my old Marine gear still fits."

Faith's smirk faded as Andy ejected and checked the magazine for his AR-15 before reinserting it. The seriousness of what they were all facing hit her. Her worry for him grew, "You should get your sister and parents and get out of town," she said in a quiet concerned voice.

"I've already talked to my folks. They're under the delusion that with the army here that they're actually safer. Celia tried to convince them to leave, but they say that're tired of running and to be honest, so am I," Andy said as he slung his assault rifle over his shoulder and stepped closer to Faith.

She met him halfway and looked up, meeting his eyes. Her heart was pounding, and she was at a loss of what to say or do next. Andy smiled as he read her discomfort. He stepped closer and put his arms awkwardly around her to pull her closer, "You know you look sexy in all that body armor," he said still smiling.

Faith smiled, "Yeah, I do make this look good," she said as she wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him closer.

The kiss seemed to last a long time before they both came up for air, "Damn, you make me wish we had time to go back inside," Faith said in husky voice.

Andy laughed, "I appreciate the vote of confidence, but we don't want to be caught with our pants down, both figuratively and literally."

They both kept looking at each other for a long moment, each wishing it wouldn't end. Andy finally ended the moment, "There are two things I want to ask you."

A cold feeling struck Faith. She found herself on edge and wary of where this conversation was going, "Okay, what is it?"

Andy let out a small sigh of relief despite seeing the wariness she was projecting, "If things go bad," he paused as he tried to find the right words, "I want you to promise me you'll hightail it out of here and not look back."

Faith had to take a deep breath to keep the sudden surge of anger in check. Andy could see the anger in her face and spoke again to cut-off her rebuttal, "Please, Faith. These aliens are looking for you! I need to know that you're safe and that you'll leave. Please promise me that! I need to know you'll do it. Do it for me!" he pleaded in a quiet desperate voice.

Faith wanted to swear at him and tell him to stick his request where the sun don't shine, but as she looked into his face, she saw how worried he was and how much he loved her. She reluctantly made her decision, letting out a deep sigh, "Okay. You win. If things get bad I'll get out of Dodge," she took another deep breath, "You men can be so demanding sometimes," she said with a small smirk, "What's the second thing?"

Andy found himself suddenly nervous as he went over the words he'd rehearsed in his mind many times. He now found it hard as his throat constricted and his mouth went as dry as the desert, "Um… Uh… I-I w-wanted…"

Faith couldn't help herself as she laughed at his obvious discomfort, "Come'on it can't be that bad. I think I've been pretty open-minded to everything we've done so far," she said with a knowing smirk.

"N-No, no it's not anything like that," Andy said shaking his head vigorously. He took another deep breath as he regained his resolve and words, "I wanted to ask you a question," he said in a quiet voice.

Faith suddenly found herself in the midst of an out-of-body experience. Her mind and thoughts were at another place, another time and Andy was somebody else. She recalled when that somebody else had given her a jewellery box and she'd gone crazy thinking it was a ring. After finding out it wasn't, she had experienced a surprising disappointment.

She had to take a deep breath as she found that she'd been holding her breath, "What's the question?" she asked in a quiet voice.

Andy took another deep breath, gaining courage from the opening Faith was giving him, "I don't want to jinx us, but when this is over… I want to ask you a question and I'm hoping you'll say yes," he said with a small soft smile on his face.

It took a moment for it all to register with her. For a moment the emptiness and loss that had woken her up came storming back. She pushed those feelings down as she looked into Andy's face. A whisper of a thought told her to say no, but those old hopes and dreams were long gone… dead in the far expanses of a cold galaxy.

 _Paul's gone, and that was my past… Andy is my future_ , Faith thought.

Andy saw Faith pause and the pit of his stomach went into free fall, cursing himself that he had pushed too fast, too soon. His thoughts of defeat suddenly changed as he saw the look in her face change and a small smile came to her face.

"When this is over… Ask your question and I'll say yes," she said as Andy hugged her tightly and they kissed again.


	15. Evolution is a bitch!

**CHAPTER FIFTEEN:  
Evolution is a bitch!**

" _…The Stage 5 Invid appears outwardly physically human, with all the requisite internal and external parts. In terms of performance characteristics, the Stage 5 Invid has the same, or somewhat better, physical and mental abilities as humans. The Regess created these 'humanized' Invid to better study and combat her adversaries in the Sentinels and REF. This new evolved Invid life-form was better adapted and optimized for command and combat than the other stages of Invid evolution. Even though they may appear human, these Invid still possess the low-level psionic subconscious connection with the rest of the Invid hive mind, which makes them better at commanding the lower castes. However, in selecting the humans as a template for this next stage of Invid evolution, the Regess failed to take one important factor into account. When templating humans on to the Invid, she got all the varied capabilities of that species which included hormones, emotions, self-awareness, and free will. Despite being Invid, the Stage 5 form can actively decide to isolate themselves from the group mind or pretend to be something else through it…"_

— Excerpt from the REF Field Guide (Tirol, 2036)

" _…Even today, Admiral Coleiro's fateful decision still fascinates many. What happened to him is studied by many different fields of studies ranging the likes of xenobiology to the metaphysical. Each try to understand why he did, what he did. Many have tried to put themselves in his shoes at that crucial moment, but there are still many lingering questions as to what really happened that day. Unfortunately, there are no public records and no one involved has ever publicly spoken about what transpired on Operta and what happened to him…"_

— Excerpt from _"The Reaper Comes for Everyone: The Life of Admiral Paul Coleiro"_

 **oOoOo**

Alone in the Situation Room, dark angry thoughts coursed through Kinsey. After his call with the commanding officer in charge of the soldiers in Adamsville, he'd thrown everyone out in a fit of anger. His mind swirled with thoughts of revenge against everyone who'd ever opposed him, but his main problem was with what he was going to do with his 'Texas Problem'. He tried looking at all the different angles that would give him the best outcome, but he couldn't see one where he wasn't taking a major hit. A voice interrupted his thoughts.

"Bob, you don't have a lot of options here."

Kinsey looked at The First Evil, "I could send in some vampires… Have them sweep in at night take out the command group. That should cause them to fold up? Maybe they can grab the Slayer…" he mused out loud.

The image that The First Evil used shook his head, "If you had time, then I would say give it a try," The First said with an uncharacteristically concerned tone in its voice

"What do you mean if I had time? What's going on? What am I not being told?" Kinsey asked with concern as his train of thought immediately changed as he caught the tone in his master's voice.

The First Evil displayed a pensive look which caused the President to become even more concerned, "Something has changed," he saw the questioning on Kinsey's face, "I don't know what's happened. All I can tell you is that something has changed and we don't have a lot of time."

The President let out a deep sigh of frustration, "So what do you suggest?"

"You've got to make the call to the Haydonites. The longer you wait the worse it will get. Once word gets out about what's happening in Texas, it won't take long for others to get the same idea. You'll then be dealing with rebellions all over the place. Those aliens may then see you as someone that's unable to keep his house in order. They might decide that you're no longer needed."

Kinsey reluctantly nodded in agreement as he saw no other option to this course of action. The sullen look disappeared as an idea flashed through his head.

"Bob, I can see the wheels a turning in your head. What do you have in mind?"

An evil looking smirk flashed on the President's face, "I think it's time to clean house… While we hand over that Slayer's location and get those aliens to do the dirty work in Texas. I think it's finally time to clean house here in Washington. We'll unleash all the vampires to remove all my enemies and any potential adversaries and purge them in one swoop. The streets of this town will run red with their blood. Nobody will dare oppose us…"

The First Evil couldn't help but mirror the look that the President was showing, "Way to make lemonade out of lemons, Bob."

 **oOoOo**

"Rector Loreer, your early arrival here is an unexpected bonus," Dejan said.

"Yes, Prelate. Our forces have managed to stall the organics' offensive for now. The Supreme Council and the Awareness decided that we could release reinforcements to your fleet to help fortify this planet's defenses," the Rector replied.

"We suffered minimal casualties when we took this planet, but I appreciate the support. I see you have already begun deployment of the orbital defense platforms."

"Yes, Prelate. To save time the platforms were pre-assembled at homeworld. They will add significantly to the firepower at your disposal."

"Yes, from the information I have seen, the new Synchro Cannon has been showing impressive results," Dejan said.

"Yes, this new weapon is being retro-fitted to the ships and defense installations in the home system," Loreer replied.

"What is the status on the Neutron-S missiles? I understand that they are close to being ready."

"There have been a few delays due to some technical difficulties, but the program is still within parameters to be ready within the projected time line," Loreer replied.

Anticipation and desire for revenge flowed through Dejan. His imagination ran wild with the thoughts of the destruction he would rain down on the homeworlds of that damned Alliance, "What is the status of the orbital defense platform deployment?"

"Sixty-two percent of the platforms have been deployed. Forty percent have been powered up and are in diagnostic testing mode. We should have full deployment completed within the next twenty-four hours. The platforms should be certified fully operational within forty-eight hours," Loreer answered.

"Excellent work, Rector. Your performance is noted," Dejan said in a satisfactory tone. He was about to say something else to the Rector when one of his subordinates approached and spoke up.

"Prelate, there is an incoming transmission from Rector Nunan."

Dejan nodded as he moved over to the main holographic display to take the communication. He nodded again and the image of Nunan materialized, appearing as if he was floating over the command table.

"Rector, what do you have to report?"

"Prelate, I received word from President Kinsey. He has the location of the Slayer," Nunan said.

Dejan could not believe his run of good fortune at the moment, but the satisfaction faded as he detected something in Nunan's voice.

"What is the problem?" Dejan demanded as his tone implied he would not tolerate any excuses.

"Prelate… Kinsey informed me of her location over two hours ago. He also informed me that some of his military units have rebelled and have linked up with the Slayer and her cohorts…"

"Yes, yes, get on with it!" Dejan ordered.

"I deployed a squad of Inquisitors, sending them in on an assault transport to capture her," the Rector said in an unusually hesitant voice.

As the Rector continued his report, a sinking sensation filled the Prelate as the tone in Nunan's voice did not indicate that the operation had been a success.

"I underestimated the capabilities of the forces involved. They appear to have deployed air defense systems in the area. The transport was shot down with no survivors…"

Dejan took a moment to consider the choices he faced. His first instinct was to rebuke Nunan for botching the operation and for now alerting their quarry they were coming. But he now knew where she was. It was as if the universe was giving the Hegemony an opportunity to regain what it had lost. For now, he tabled any punishment for the Rector as he decided what course of action they would take.

"Rector, you will assemble an assault group from the units you have at your disposal. I will notify our other bases to assemble ground units and mecha into a battle group for transport. I will arrange for reconnaissance on the target location along with fighters to support the operation. That should make quick work of any human opposition," Dejan said.

"Yes, Prelate!" Nunan said, expressing relief that his superior had decided to overlook his fumbling of the capture operation, "What about the other humans at that location? Should we take prisoners for interrogation?"

Dejan didn't hesitate, "Our sole aim is the capture of the female. The others are immaterial... Execute them all," he said in a cold voice.

 **oOoOo**

Faith watched the rising column of smoke from the burning wreckage that had plummeted to the ground several miles out of the town. The heads-up display on her helmet visor gave her the exact distance where the alien craft had crashed. Colonel Weir had tied her and Buffy's Cyclone com systems into the army tactical communication network. She listened in as a patrol sent out to investigate the crash site confirmed that there was no further threat.

Watching the smoke, she recalled how the radio crackled with reports of an unidentified flying object being detected coming towards the town. In a matter of seconds, she'd heard the order given to engage and missiles roared into the sky from different locations from around the town. It was only a matter of moments then explosions went off high in the sky. She saw something on fire, falling towards the ground. She heard the soldiers near her cheer as the crippled craft crashed to the ground.

"So what do you think?" Buffy asked, her voice crackling over the com system.

Faith smirked. Even though they were tied into the army net, the two Slayers had kept a private channel just for themselves to have conversations just like this without the army listening in.

"One ship? Seems a little insulting don't ya think?" Faith replied with a laugh.

"It took four missiles to bring it down," Buffy said, "And I don't think that's the last we'll hear from them."

Faith let out a sigh as she knew Buffy was right, "How bad do you think it will be?"

"It'll make Sunnydale and Cleveland look like a day at the beach," Buffy replied adding her own sigh.

"How long do you think we have?" Faith asked.

Buffy considered the question. Regarding fighting aliens, she had no experience, but her Slayer instincts were screaming threat warnings to her, "I don't think we'll have to wait too long," she said.

"Good… I hate waiting," Faith replied.

Buffy shook her head, trying not to laugh. She was trying to think of a comeback when a signal on her helmet's heads-up display flashed. She changed over to the army tactical channel as she knew Faith would be doing the same.

Voices filled the channels. She didn't understand all the jargon or terminology that the military used, but she could pick out enough to understand that trouble was heading towards them.

 _"Inbound hostile aircraft!"_

Buffy barely had time to absorb the warning as missiles roared into the sky from around the town.

 **oOoOo**

Colonel Weir listened and watched as updates came in. He projected a calm, serious demeanor on the outside as reports came in that more airborne hostiles were inbound. He'd already given orders for all air defenses to engage at will. This new group — of thirty plus aircraft — appeared to be made of smaller and faster craft than the craft they'd engaged earlier. These targets wouldn't be as easy to take down.

He'd already sent out orders for all units to disperse, so they weren't grouped together to make it easy for the enemy to take them out. Doubts were ever present in his thoughts. He had no experience fighting aliens and found himself hoping that his strategy and tactics would be effective. His thoughts were interrupted as another report came in.

"Colonel, we've got a second group of inbound hostiles behind the first! They appear to be looking to land outside our missile range!"

Weir nodded. Studying the two attacking groups he quickly discerned the enemy's strategy. He knew that the first group would come in and soften him up with air strikes. The second group was the ground force that would move in and engage him. A small grim smile appeared on his face when he saw the co-ordinates of where the second group was projected to land.

"I want a fire mission!" he shouted as he motioned for the brigade's artillery support officer to join him at the map board, "I want you to drop everything you have on those co-ordinates the minute they touch down!" Weir ordered, pointing at the map. The Colonel turned to stare back across his command post as the air defense officer called out how close the inbound hostiles were. Weir found himself again wishing for air support. His wishing was interrupted as his cell phone vibrated in his pant pocket. As he looked at the name and phone number showing on his call display, his eyes went wide as he answered the call.

"General?" Weir said in an incredulous voice. He could barely make out General Chamber's voice over the other end of the cell phone.

"Col— Weir, ca— you —ar me?"

"Barely, sir."

For a moment the line crackled and roared, but then it cleared up, "Sorry, Colonel. Had to get my HUMVEE to pull over to the side of the road. I tried calling over the tactical channels, but we couldn't get through to you. I thought I would give this a try on the off chance."

"Yes, sir. We've been experiencing some jamming and degradation in our communication channels, but we still have good local command and control," Weir said. He could hear what sounded like a roar of heavy vehicles passing by, over the cell phone.

"Colonel, my lead elements are still two hours out from you. But I do have some good news. I was able to get you some support that can get there quicker. They should be there any time now."

Weir was about to ask what the support was when a call went up from a station at the command post, "INCOMING! I have another group of inbound aircraft… twenty plus!" There was a pause before the voice spoke excitedly, "I've got IFFs! They're ours!"

Weir shook his head in amazement as cheers rang through the command post. His attention turned back to the phone and General Chambers, "How did you get us air support?"

"I made a few calls. Just hold on Colonel, we'll be there soon!"

 **oOoOo**

Captain Chris "Conan" Brooks, checked his heads-up display of his F-22 Raptor. He was satisfied that the latest block upgrades, which incorporated REF technology, had improved the radar and fire-control systems of his fighter to cut through the electronic jamming the enemy was putting out.

His dream had once been to fly one of those Robotech planes. Those dreams were now long gone as his concentration was on the targets flashing on his fire-control radar as his fighter and the rest of his squadron closed the distance with the alien craft.

His mind flashed back to a few hours earlier when their squadron and base commander had gathered the whole unit and explained what was happening in Texas. They had asked for volunteers… every pilot stepped forward. For Brooks, there had been no hesitation on his part. His younger brother had been with the navy… stationed at Pearl Harbor. His desire for payback burned deeply, but his voice was calm as he addressed his flight.

"Whiskey leader to Whiskey flight… Tally Ho! Looks like we got here in time to help out the army. Engage with AMRAAMs first and then we'll close to sidewinder and cannon range."

Brooks heard the acknowledgements as he got a radar lock on one of the alien craft.

"Fox Three!" he said, pressing the weapons trigger on his flight stick. His fighter shuddered slightly as the weapons bay opened and a missile launched. He was already looking for another target to engage as his missile streaked across the sky at several times the speed of sound. It didn't take long for explosions to dot the afternoon sky. A brief sense of satisfaction filled him as he saw that one of the alien ships destroyed was his target. He quickly locked on to another alien ship as the range continued to close.

"Fox Three!" he said as he launched another missile.

 **oOoOo**

Dejan watched the battle unfold in real-time on his holographic command table. If he'd had a face that could show or express any emotion, it would have been one of growing frustration. He'd been surprised by the arrival of human fighters. They weren't Robotech craft, but the humans were using them effectively against his fighters. His ground assault force hadn't gotten off easy either. They had been hit by human artillery just moments after landing, causing extensive casualties and disrupting their move on the human position.

Though the humans may have drawn first blood, the Prelate still had massive reserves. Two more ground assault groups backed up with vehicle units and artillery were on route. The humans would soon face the full wrath of his forces.

"Send in four more fighter groups! I want them to establish air superiority over the battlefield and take out every human aircraft and airfield within range."

"Yes, Prelate!" one of his officers replied.

"Have we received any reports back from our reconnaissance forces?" Dejan asked while watching his diminished fighter force recover and engage the human forces in close range combat.

"Yes, Prelate. We are now just receiving data from our drones and scout ships. Data is being streamed to your command console."

Dejan watched as the holographic display changed and morphed to give a better detailed view of the terrain along with providing a disposition of human defenses that had been detected. Before today's events, he would have dismissed the humans' defensive efforts. The growing list of casualties forced him to admit that he couldn't afford to be so cavalier in his efforts against the humans of this planet.

"They have dispersed their artillery and one of their armored formations to a separate location to provide fire support," Dejan noted.

"Yes, Prelate," replied an officer.

"It appears to be far enough away…" Dejan mused, "Have the closest cruiser move and launch an orbital bombardment on that position to remove it," he ordered.

Dejan didn't note the acknowledgments from his staff as his concentration was on the holographic display. A sense of satisfaction grew as the display showed his reinforcements entering the battle zone.

 **oOoOo**

 _Time had no meaning or grasp on him… The universe lay before him and he could jump to any point in time to view any memory from the collective mind. He saw how his species looked eons ago and how they first interacted with the flower. He saw how they developed their connection with it. The Regess's thoughts mingled with his as he jumped through the years feeling the touch of the hive's countless generations as their…_ his _race grew and evolved. He saw their original homeworld… before the Shadows came and they were forced to flee across the stars to settle on Operta._

 _"The Flower of Life is all that matters…" echoed the collective voices of the Invid._

 _"I am Invid. There is only the Flower," his thoughts echoed back._

 _He jumped to another point in time and saw the Regess standing before a strange looking bipedal creature. The words "humanoid" and "Zor" echoed in his thoughts. They seemed familiar, but he did not know how. A wave of strange emotions hit him as he felt the Regess touch Zor's mind and they intermingled and became one. He saw how his Regess had shared the secrets of the Flower with this humanoid… this Tirolian._

 _Watching as his Regess changed her form to match that of the Tirolian. He felt her emotions… the yearning as she waited for Zor to return. The emotions were strange yet there was something familiar about them. Images of people and places flashed through his mind. He thought he should recognize them. The faces and places continued to pull at him until they faded. Doubts suddenly filled his thoughts, and he sought the comfort and reassurance of the group mind._

 _"I am Invid," his thoughts echoed with a slight and disturbing hesitation._

 _He saw through his Regess's eyes as huge dark ships descended from the sky. He felt a burst of excitement as she at first thought it was Zor returning to her. That excitement quickly turned to sorrow and despair as she realized it wasn't him… the Shadows had found them! The Haydonites occupied their world, there would be no escape this time. A ripple of intense emotions emanated from the Regess as she was imprisoned in the central hive and the PSI jammers blocked her from communicating with her children. More strange images flashed, this time an image of a particular humanoid lingered longer than the others._

 _"She is a humanoid female," the Regess said sensing his confusion._

 _More strange emotions along with the doubts flowed through him. He thought he should know what these emotions were, but he had no name for them. They were unsettling and discomforting as he was being pulled in all directions._

 _"What am I?" his thoughts echoed, trying to calm his doubts._

 _"You are Invid!" the collective thoughts of the Invid roared back. He thought he could detect his doubts and discomfort reflected in them._

 _"Yes, you are Invid," replied the Regess. He felt the touch of her mind, trying to sooth and calm his thoughts._

 _"What is my purpose? Why am I here?" he asked trying to wrap the Regess's touch around his thoughts to get rid of the doubts and discomfort he was experiencing._

 _The Regess's thoughts echoed, mingling with his, "You will be the instrument of my—our revenge! You will unleash the power of the Invid! You will show us the way!"_

 _More images flashed through his mind. This time they were of battles. Again he thought he should recognize them, but he couldn't put all the fragments together. Again the image of the female humanoid flashed. This time she smiled at him and it looked like she was saying something, but he couldn't make out what it was. What struck him was the look on her face and in her eyes. He struggled to come up with a word to describe it. Words flashed through his thoughts… tenderness… caring… love._

 _He was surprised as the collective absorbed his thoughts and words. He felt the ripples through the group mind as the image of the female mixed with the memories and feelings of the Regess. More confusion flowed through him as the Regess's thoughts and the hive mind pulled at him. He didn't know what to do as he tried to understand what was happening. He knew that a war was going on, but he struggled to understand why the Invid should be involved… All his species wanted was to live and commune with the Flower._

 _A part of him wanted to reject what the Regess was asking as more troubling images flashed. They were images of pain, suffering and death. He pushed them aside trying to hide from the pain as it was foreign to him at this stage, but yet it seemed familiar._

 _"Why?" he cried out to the hive mind._

 _"The Flower is all that matters!" they cried back._

 _Being Invid that should have been enough to satisfy him, but it wasn't._

 _"There has to be more?" he demanded as he tried to find understanding in the growing chaos of not only his thoughts and emotions, but also the group mind. He found himself wanting to hide from the group mind. He wanted to be alone which surprised him as it was anathema to the Invid. A growing fear built up inside him as he didn't understand what was happening._

 _"Help me!" he cried out to the Regess._

 _"What is it?" her soothing thoughts said as they wrapped around his._

 _"I-I am afraid!"_

 _"What are you afraid of?"_

 _He had no words to describe why he was afraid. All he knew was that he was afraid. He could feel his fear flow through the collective mind and the stirrings of panic it created._

 _Her soothing thoughts returned, "You must face your fear."_

 _"I-I don't know if I can… I don't know how," he said as the fear grew and threatened to overwhelm and drown him._

 _"Set your mind free… What is the first thought that comes to it?" the Regess asked._

 _He struggled as he did as she asked. The image of the female humanoid returned with the same look as before. His fear ebbed, and it resonated through the collective._

 _"She is important somehow?" he asked unsure as he focused on the female. There was the stirrings of other emotions he couldn't identify, but they were pleasant ones. Again his feelings resonated through the collective mind as their fear faded._

 _He found himself able to access more memories of the female. They seem to all be in the past. The group mind absorbed the memories, and the fear disappeared replaced by the strange pleasant emotions. Another memory appeared, it looked to be on the deck of a spaceship. The female was there, she had a sad look on her face which he found upsetting. He was trying to understand what was happening and what this memory meant when the memory became real. It was him standing there on the deck of the spaceship. It was him she hugged and then pressed her lips against his._

 _The pleasant feelings became even more intense… He didn't understand what was happening, but he didn't want it to end. He tried to find something to describe what he was experiencing._

 _"Desire… the word you are looking for is desire," the Regess said in a sad voice._

 _The word seemed appropriate as he wrapped his mind around what he was experiencing. His desire resonated through the collective mind of the Invid._

 _"We are Invid… We desire the Flower! We desire…" their thoughts echoed with his as the emotion grew in strength and intensity._

 _"Yes! I desire—" he started to say as the memory continued on. This time he could hear what was going on and being said._

"I'll be back… I promise!" _he heard himself say._

"Don't make a girl a promise, you can't keep," _the female said in a sad soft voice._

 _The words hit him hard as he tried to understand what he was going through. He didn't care that his confusion was flowing into the group mind too._

 _"A-A promise… I-I made a promise…" he said to the Regess and the rest of the Invid._

 _"A promise!" they echoed back._

 _More memories came and this time he saw the sacrifice that the_ other _had made which allowed for him to exist. Other images flashed in his mind, mixing with those other memories. The images unveiled the path for the Invid's ultimate destiny. It was strange as some details were clear while others were hazy and they could not see. Those details did not matter to the hive mind as they were drawn, like a moth to a flame, to the final image of what their species would evolve into. Joy and happiness filled him and the hive mind as they witnessed the final evolution of their race as they soared to a higher plane of existence. As the phoenix rose from their planet, the hive mind reverberated with a desire and impatience it had never experienced before._

 _"Not yet. It is not our time yet. We have much yet to do," the Regess said in a tender soothing voice to help calm and sooth the hive mind while it adjusted to these new emotions._

 _He couldn't help notice that even while he'd been happy at seeing what his race would achieve. It wasn't the same happiness he'd experienced with the female. Doubts again returned to his thoughts. This time he blocked it from the collective as he did not want to share it with them. Images of what the_ other _had done returned, and he found himself wanting to understand the_ other _more._

 _"The other? H-He is a part of me?" his mind called out to the Regess._

 _"If you want him to be," the Regess replied._

 _More doubt and hesitation flowed through his thoughts as he tried to understand what the Regess had said and why he felt this way._

 _"Why would h-he give her up? He could have chosen a different path? He could have been with her!"_

 _Another vision came, but this time it was as if it was more like a memory… In a moment of clarity, he understood why the_ other _had made his choice. Helpless anger flooded over him, threatening to drown him as the vision continued. He tried to block the emotions from the rest of the collective, but they were so intense that they leaked through. The hive mind's mood shifted and changed, mirroring him, as the memories and emotions hit them. This anger flowed through the Invid group mind, touching every corner, forever changing it._

 _His thoughts cried out to the Regess, asking for her to take away the images and emotions that pulled and weighed on him like a curse._

 _The Regess caught him by surprise when she didn't help, but only asked him a question, "Do you understand?"_

 _He saw the choice he had. He could rid himself of all the memories and feelings from the_ other _… they would be gone forever. That would be the easy choice and it would make things so much simpler and coherent. He heard parts of the group mind cry out, urging him to make this choice. Memories and images of the female danced in his thoughts. Knowing she would be gone forever filled him with a deep ache and pain he had no words to describe with._

 _"I choose…" he said, pushing away the doubts and fears._

 _Emotions and memories flowed through him. Despite the ongoing confusion he was still experiencing, he thought he was beginning to understand what was happening. That all changed in a moment as visions struck him and the Invid collective like a thunderbolt._

 _They saw ships in space around a small insignificant blue and white world exploding and breaking apart. Before they could comprehend what was happening the scene shifted, and he was now on the planet. The Invid group mind saw the smoke covered battlefield through his eyes. They watched as a pair of Reavers dragged a bloodied humanoid outfitted in protective armor. A surge of emotions went not only through him, but also the group mind. Any remnants of any lingering pleasant feelings were swept away as strong undesirable ones hammered at him and the hive mind with an intensity they had never experienced before. They watched helplessly as the humanoid struggled weakly while being dragged by the Haydonites._

 _"I never knew what had happened to Zor... Not until after the Alliance liberated Operta," the Regess's thoughts said mixed with sadness and these new emotions that they were all experiencing._

 _"I-I promised…" he said without thinking._

 _"A PROMISE!" the Invid collective mind roared back as it surged with these new feelings._

 _He was helpless as the vision played out and these emotions grew even stronger becoming even more intense. He found he couldn't control his emotions anymore as the Reavers dropped the humanoid to ground, pinning the creature as they removed the helmet. Time froze as he recognized the female as she was dragged her off._

 _The Invid collective roared in rage and pain with him as the painful vision faded._

 _"I promised…" he said in hard, hate filled voice as more images and emotions cascaded through him into the group mind._

 _"A PROMISE!" the Invid group mind roared back, mirroring his rage and hate._

 _The Regess's mind reached out to him and the hive, "You have been chosen to lead us against the Shadows… You will be our Regent. You will raise us up… We will defeat our enemy and achieve our destiny!"_

 _He paid little attention to what the Regess was saying as more memories and emotions flooded his mind…_

 _"I promise!" he said in a strong determined voice, trying to hold back the hate and rage._

 _"We promise!" the collective mind of the Invid echoed back mirroring his determination and resolve._


	16. Counter-Strike

**CHAPTER SIXTEEN:  
Counter-Strike**

" _…Faith was always a private person. You literally had to pry stuff out of her to get to know her. I knew that she'd been in a serious relationship before me, but she never really talked about it and I never pushed her on it. I have to admit that I was always curious to know who my competition was. It wasn't until then {the Haydonite invasion} that I found out he had been with the Pioneer Mission. It was a little troubling I had to compete against a ghost, but Faith was with me. In the back of my mind, I was still curious to know how I compared against this other guy. It wasn't until I met Buffy that I had chance to get answers to my questions. I still remember approaching Buffy and asking her some questions about Faith — to learn more about her. When I asked her about this 'other guy', she got really quiet and reflective. When she finally answered all she said was, 'Faith loves you. Count on that. Don't try to compare yourself to him or even try to be him.' Needless to say, my confidence was a little shaken by her cryptic response and left me wondering even more who this other guy was…"_

— Andres Rodriguez

 **oOoOo**

Colonel Weir heard the shouts and updates coming into his command post from all points around the defensive perimeter. Pushing aside the shock, he kept it together as his remaining units were making contact with the lead elements of the alien forces. His experience and training helped him to look and sound in control while he issued orders. On the inside it was as if he'd been kicked in the gut and body slammed to the ground.

Even though he couldn't see the mushroom cloud that was the funeral pyre for his supporting artillery and one of his armored battalions. He — along with everyone else — had seen the flash of light coming down from the sky, then heard the distance roar and felt the ground shake. It hadn't taken long for panicked reports to come in. Along with lack of radio contact from those units, Weir and the rest of his command team realized what had happened and the disaster they now faced.

He had to struggle with the numbing shock at the realization that a good third of his brigade — all those men and women — had been killed in an instant. His command post was getting reports from a few scattered survivors. But for all intense purposes those units had ceased to exist as fighting units in one blinding flash of light. His brigade had already suffered horrible casualties, and the battle hadn't even been fully joined yet.

Despite the aliens firing from orbit, the air battle overheard had intensified. Other squadrons had gotten word about what was happening in Texas and they had made their choice to make a stand. It was a mix of different squadrons and aircraft joining in. This had resulted in the close air support not being as smooth or well-coordinated as they were used to, but it was better than nothing. The latest was a flight of F-16s from the Texas Air National Guard hitting one of the alien landing zones — catching them unloading. They had come in low and fast, dropping their payloads, taking intense ground fire. He appreciated the mission and sacrifice those pilots had made, but he valued what the surviving pilot had reported even more as it gave him an idea of what he was facing.

Weir tried to suppress an involuntary shiver as he went over the descriptions of the vehicles that the aliens were unloading along with the hordes of their armored infantry. The pilot's description of the vehicles seemed to be something out of a nightmare — a large central mass with legs. It would have been so easy to disregard the reports, but his forward observers were also making similar reports.

A flight of A-10s was inbound, and he'd had them vectored to hit another alien landing zone. He'd also gotten word that several AC-130 gunships were inbound too. Weir hoped that the firepower the ground attack planes carried would be effective against the alien vehicles.

 _If they aren't, this will be a really short battle_ , Weir thought glancing around the command post.

His only consolation was that the aliens hadn't attempted — so far — another orbital strike on the town or the troops defending it. This would seem to confirm that these aliens wanted Faith alive. It was only her presence and proximity that was keeping the aliens from sweeping away the rest of his forces from orbit. This only hardened Weir's resolve to make those aliens pay in blood for the sacrifice that his people were making.

His thoughts continued along this line, looking around at the men and women in his command post. When he'd taken on this mission, he'd realized that it might turn into a forlorn hope — a last stand. But its two different things to be talking about the potential of fighting a hopeless battle compared to being in one. He pushed away any doubts or regrets about the decisions he'd made. He would deal — _if he survived_ — with them after the battle.

"Please god, don't let them be sacrificed in vain," Weir whispered as he got back to work of directing the remnants of his brigade.

 **oOoOo**

Technical Sergeant Marie Chen tried keeping her focus on her display screen. Her attention was to be focused on her monitoring station, but the noise and commotion coming from the other stations kept distracting her. As a part of the 20th Space Control Squadron at Eglin Air Force Base, her normal line of work was to detect, track, identify, and report all near earth objects (NEOs) and deep space objects (DSOs). With the alien invasion, she tracked the positions and movements of the alien ships in orbit and passing that information up the chain of command.

Chen knew that something big was going on in Texas, but beyond a few bits she'd picked up, she had no idea what was going on. Her console had detected movement change of one of the huge alien ships to take a closer orbital position over Texas. She had alerted command to this change, but other than that she could only watch helplessly as the alien ship took position. Her console display screen then had momentarily flared, rendering it unreadable. She took a moment to realize that the aliens had fired on something… or someone on the surface. She'd said a quiet pray for the poor bastards as her anger and frustration grew as she sat at her station — helpless to do anything to change the situation.

 _Take a deep breath and focus on your job_ , Chen thought to herself as she tried to calm down and push the noises and people around her away for the moment. As her attention returned to her display screen, she blinked not sure if what she was seeing was real.

"What the hell?" she murmured checking her console. As more unidentified objects continued to appear just beyond the moon's orbit, she ran a diagnostic program to make sure that her console was working and this wasn't a glitch. The sudden realization that this wasn't a system error became apparent as she heard exclaims and shouts from other stations. Someone routed what was happening on the smaller consoles to a large flat panel display screen at the front of the room. Now everyone could see what was happening in space around Earth.

An eerie silence descended upon the room as everyone stared at the screen watching as more unidentified targets materialized out of nowhere. Chen had monitored the recent arrival of alien reinforcements and she'd thought that had been a scary moment… until now. What should have been normal procedure of scanning and cataloging the new ships fell aside as more blips — indicating large ships — kept appearing. Everyone in the room saw that the size of this new force easily outnumbered the orbiting alien fleet.

Chen stood up from her station, watching in numb silence as the main display provided real-time updates showing the position of the two forces gathering in Earth space. Her thoughts were that this had to be another group of alien reinforcements, but something was different about this. Almost as an afterthought, she saw the alien ship which had fired on the planet, was moving to rejoin the alien fleet. She watched in awe as the two distinct groups of ships seemed to be form up — almost as if they were taking positions to face off against each other. It was only when smaller targets blossomed from the two large groups that someone regained their composure, shouting commands for everyone to man their stations and get back to work.

Chen jumped back to work, trying to gather more information about this new arrivals. It was strange, but rather than the fear, she now felt an intense sense of anticipation — almost like everything was about to change. She had no reason or idea to explain why she felt this way as she tried to focus on her job.

 **oOoOo**

Prelate Dejan studied the holographic display showing the disposition of his fleet and the incoming Alliance ships. If his race had facial expressions, his face would have been projecting a frustrated frown as more Alliance ships defolded into normal space.

 _How did they know we were here?_ Dejan thought furiously as he studied the ship icons on the display showing the Alliance ships forming up into battle formation. Further thoughts about how his enemy had learned of his presence here ended as one of his subordinates came up to report.

"Prelate, our initial scans have been confirmed that the arriving Alliance fleet outnumbers us."

"Yes, I can see that. Tell me something I do not know!" Dejan replied in frustrated voice.

The subordinate was surprised by this rebuke. He took a moment to recover before responding, "Prelate, our more detailed scans indicate at least half of their fleet are dropships and assault transports…"

Dejan took a moment to consider this new information. Doing quick calculations, he realized that his fleet had a small numerical advantage in combat ships. He also had the firepower of the orbital defense platforms, that were already online, at his disposal.

The Prelate found himself filled with a boost of confidence, "Anything else from the scans?"

"Yes, Prelate. Many of their warships have been identified as older class vessels… ones we know that have been removed from frontline service and relegated to planetary defense duties."

Dejan's confidence grew even bolder at the news that his fleet would be go up against older — and inferior — Alliance ships. He realized that he had an advantage and an unprecedented opportunity to defeat and destroy a large Alliance fleet. Further thoughts along these lines were cut-off as one of his subordinates called out.

"The organics have launched fighters!"

Dejan didn't hesitate. He had been given an unprecedented opportunity, he wanted to take advantage of this gift that had presented itself, "Launch our fighters! Bring the defense platforms to bear on the incoming enemy ships. Our new synchro cannons will be a rude surprise to them. We will destroy their fighters and when the time is right, the fleet will advance and we will annihilate them!"

 **oOoOo**

 _"All right Skull Squadron, form up and check in."_

Kennedy listened as her squadron checked in. This was all old hat and automatic for her by now, "Skull-Nine, check," she said in a voice almost sounding disinterested and bored when it was her turn.

Her voice may have showed she was bored, but inside her stomach was doing flips. She looked towards the blue and white world that was just hanging there in space and she could almost taste being home. The only thing between her and the planet was the large Haydonite fleet imposing itself between them.

 _Don't need to be getting killed this close to home, especially after getting Willow back_ , she thought, taking a deep breath to calm and focus herself. Seeing Earth, her thoughts turned to her family. She hadn't really thought about them in years. Her thoughts and feelings had been on more important things — like flying, staying alive and Willow. But at this moment she wondered how her parents and half-sister had done over the years and how they were managing through the Haydonite invasion.

 _If anyone could profit from an alien invasion, good old Dad would find a way…_

She let out a little snort as her family hadn't approved of any of her life choices. There had been a time in her life when she had yearned for their approval. That was now long in the past. She had everything she ever wanted in life… She was a Slayer, a fighter pilot and she had a woman that loved her. She'd been places, seen and done things that most people couldn't even imagine…

 _Get your head back in the game, Kennedy… It sounds as if you're writing your obit_ , she thought, letting out a small chuckle. She refocused her thoughts on her mission, checking in with her wingman and the rest of the flight element she led.

Her eyes went to the scanner display on her cockpit console. Blips filled the scanner with different colors indicating the different types of ships and which side they belonged to. This wasn't the biggest battle she'd ever been in, but it was looking as if this one would easily make her "Top 10".

 _That is one target rich environment_ , she thought as her mouth turned up into what could only be described as a predator's grin. Her com channel called out again with her squadron leader's voice.

 _"Heads up, everyone! The drones are going in! We wait until they thin out those bastards first and we get clean-up. Everybody stay frosty and watch for any leakers trying to get through to the transports!_ "

Kennedy recalled the mission briefing. General Coulson knew that he couldn't match the Haydonite fleet ship-for-ship, so he'd loaded up as many manned and drone fighters as his fleet could carry. He planned to send the drone fighters in first to weaken the enemy's fighter screen and pound their capital ships with missiles. This would — hopefully — force the enemy to concentrate on the fighter threat and allow him to close with his warships to finish and destroy the enemy fleet or at least force them to retreat. If he could force the enemy to retreat this would to allow the Marines in the assault transports and dropships to land uncontested on the planet. The Marines would then kick some Haydonite ass and everyone would live happily ever after. Skull, Grim Reapers and the other manned Veritech squadrons that made up the rest of the fleet's fighter force were in reserve to take out any warships or fighters that survived the drones and to escort and protect the troopships.

Looking at her scanning display again, her Slayer instincts were telling her that there seemed to be more enemy targets than what they thought they would be facing. A tingling sensation emanated from her gut. She had instinctively known what this feeling was even back when she was still just a Potential. It was only after joining the REF she found there was a quote that best described this growing worry… _No battle plan survives contact with the enemy._

Her Slayer instincts screamed warnings as the enemy fleet opened fire on the attacking drones. Her polarized helmet visor kept her eyesight from being impaired by the intense beams from the energy weapons the Haydonites had unleashed.

"What the hell was that?" Kennedy muttered in surprise and shock as the com channel filled with excited voices.

 **oOoOo**

Even though Willow had been in a space battle before, she was still feeling overwhelmed by the size and scale of everything going on around her. She had thought about staying on the bridge, but the bridge was full and she didn't want to get in anyone's way. Besides, it wasn't as if Dawn could visit or spend any time with her — she was busy doing her job. So she had followed General Coulson and his command team down to the Arcadia's War Room after they had defolded back into Earth space. Upon entering the room, she'd tried to remember the last time she'd been in here as it seemed so different from then.

 _It's all the people… Last time there weren't as many here…_

The other major difference was the "people" working in the War Room. It seemed as if every species in the Alliance was represented in here. Tashe was already here and Willow returned a greeting nod to the Invid as she entered and moved over to a wall to stay out of everyone's way. She shook her head as she saw even the demon-looking Perytonians busy at work at some of the consoles.

Even with the large number of crew working at and moving between stations, the War Room was spacious compared to the bridge. She also noticed that the woman and the camera crew that had been on the bridge had followed her group down. They were setting up in a corner of the room that put them out of the way of everyone working. Again, she thought she knew who the woman was, but she couldn't place the name.

Willow's attention went to the large table in the middle of the room and the huge holographic image being projected from it. Everything was displayed… the Earth… the moon… and all the ships from both sides, represented in real-time on the projection. She tried to get a sense of what was going on and what was going to happen, but she couldn't make sense of what was happening.

"We're assuming battle formation. We'll be launching our fighters in moment," Captain Tami said catching Willow by surprise. The Garudan Chief-of-Staff to General Coulson had seen the lost and confused look on the human's face and wanted to assist.

"Does that mean that Kennedy… uh… I mean Skull Squadron will go in?"

Tami noted the worry and concern in the human's voice. She sought to allay it the best she could, considering a major space battle was about to take place.

"We have over 1500 drone fighters attached to our fleet. Skull and the rest of the manned Veritech squadrons and Invid mecha are being held in reserve and provide combat space patrol for the fleet. We'll be sending the drones in first to take out the Haydonite fighters and weaken and destroy their warships. With their fighters gone and their defensive screen weakened, our fleet will then close and engage with missiles and energy weapons. Our main goal is to destroy the Haydonite fleet or force them to withdraw from the system. That will create a clear approach for the Marines to land on your planet."

Willow smiled and nodded in appreciation to the Captain for taking the time to explain what was happening. She went back to studying the holographic display. Watching each side's ships move and counter-move, she started to make sense of the dance that was taking place. She noted a group of enemy targets that seemed to be clustered together close to Earth — not moving.

"Captain, can you tell me what those ships are doing?" Willow asked pointing at the grouped cluster of objects.

"Those are orbital defense platforms. It appears the Haydonites have transported some of them here to fortify their hold on your planet. They get deployed in orbit to cover all planetary approaches. It looks like we got here before they could deploy them… we're only getting power indications from less than half of them," Tami answered as she studied the display.

"Then it's a good thing we got here when we did," Willow said letting out a small sigh of relief.

"Yes…" Tami replied as the holographic display changed to note the launch of the fleet's drone fighters.

The Captain looked at the holographic representations of the defense platforms and felt like she was missing something. She studied the enemy's fleet dispositions and their fighter launches. As the enemy's ships took up their positions, she could see that the enemy was leaving the defense platforms uncovered. A bad feeling filled her as this seemed out of character for the Haydonites to leave the platforms unprotected. As the fleet's fighters continued their attack run, Tami got out her tablet and pulled up more detailed sensor scans of the defense platforms. A chill went through her body as she read and interpreted the sensor scans.

Willow saw Tami studying the tablet and her worry grew, "Anything wrong Captain?" she asked in a concerned voice.

"I-I am not sure," Tami said as she kept pulling up information on her tablet.

"The energy signatures and power levels for those defense platforms differ from what we should be normally getting. Those platforms should only be armed with short range energy weapons and missile launchers. This is—"

The Garudan never finished her sentence as the operational Haydonite defense platforms opened fire into the approaching swarm of drones.

"My Goddess!" Willow said in a hushed voice as she saw large swaths of the attacking drones disappear and the War Room erupted into chaos and confusion.

 **oOoOo**

General Coulson was thinking along similar thoughts as he waited for an update on what the enemy had just hit his forces with. His command staff and the Arcadia's bridge crew were efficient and good at their jobs, so it didn't take long for a report. Commander Hanson, on the bridge, appeared on a large display screen in the War Room to provide his analysis and input.

While Coulson's job was to control and command the fleet from the War Room, Aaron was on the bridge. It was his responsibility to control and command the ship during the battle. Coulson had extreme confidence in the young Commander to do this.

"Sir, the energy signature of that weapon's fire indicates that it is a particle beam weapon, but we've never seen this type before or anything at this power level," Aaron reported.

Coulson was pulling up the sensor readings on his tablet to read. They were also being displayed on a nearby video display. The General shook his head in disbelief. He was having difficulty coming to grips with the realization that the enemy had pulled a major surprise on him and throw his attack plans into chaos. Coulson looked over the readings before handing the tablet to Commander Savino.

"Whatever that weapon is it took out over thirty percent of our drones in that first salvo!" Captain Tami said.

"Regretfully, it would appear that our intelligence reports about the Haydonites developing a new weapon system are true," the Spherisian intelligence officer replied.

"Those were just rumors!" Tami replied as she watched the main holographic display. She winced as the enemy fired another salvo of their new energy weapons, taking out more drones.

"Well it would appear that these 'rumors' exist and they were able to install them on to orbital defense platforms," Savino replied.

"I need answers!" Coulson said grimacing as he saw his attack drones take heavy casualties without having engaged the main enemy fleet yet.

"Sir…" Captain Tami began, "Our attack plan was based on certain assumptions. Those assumptions are now being proved false as the enemy fleet we are engaging is larger than our intelligence estimates. We are also facing a new weapon system of unprecedented firepower. We can retreat or we can continue the attack… and accept a greater risk to our forces and much higher casualties than we projected."

Silence gripped the War Room as all eyes turned to General Coulson. He could feel their looks and he knew they were waiting on him to decide — retreat or continue the attack. His gaze went to the holographic display. The surviving drones were now being engaged by enemy fighters along with taking fire from the defense platforms. He knew that to continue this battle, the older and smaller warships of his fleet would have to enter the range of this new weapon to engage the Haydonite fleet. There would be a heavy price to pay. His eyes went to the holographic representation of the Earth, focusing on it. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

 _We've waited so long… We're so close to home…_

It wasn't much of a difficult decision for him as he opened his eyes. Glancing around the War Room, he knew that the people here and in the rest of the fleet would follow and carry out any order he gave. It filled him with pride and a sense of sadness at the same time.

"We will continue the attack…" he said in a low firm voice.

 **oOoOo**

"Prelate, we have destroyed over seventy percent of the attacking fighter force!"

Dejan's sense of satisfaction and confidence grew even more at this latest update. His glowing eyes watched the display as his lead fighters engaged the enemy fighters. His fighters were suffering casualties, but then he was in a better position to accept these casualties when compared to the destruction he had visited upon the organics. He debated whether he should give the order for his fleet to advance upon the enemy. If he advanced, he would have to move out of range of his defense platforms, but he would still have an advantage in the number and types of warships. He found the decision taken out of his hands as he noticed the change of the enemy's disposition on the holographic display.

"The enemy fleet is advancing on us. They are closing to engage us." Dejan said aloud noting the holographic icons representing the enemy ships moving towards his fleet.

Dejan turned to one of subordinates, "Order our fighters to break-off engaging the enemy fighters. Our ships can handle the remnants of their attack force. Have our fighters strike at their warships and break through and attack their assault transports and dropships… Have the defense platforms target their lead ships as they come into range. Our synchro cannons will tear their fleet to shreds and then we will advance and eliminate the rest! Today we strike a huge blow against those lowly organics!"

Watching in smug satisfaction as his orders were carried out, his fighters broke off to engage the warships of the Alliance. His satisfaction took a hit as he saw that the Alliance had kept fighters in reserve, for defense, as they pounced on his fighters. The fighters along with the point defense weapons of their ships were tearing into his fighter force. None of his fighters had broken through to the troopships, but then he could afford to take those losses while the Alliance battle fleet began taking damage.

 _It is only a matter of time and I will slaughter them all_ , Dejan thought happily at how the battle was playing out in his favor.

"Prelate, their lead elements have entered synchro cannon firing range."

Dejan studied the holographic display for a quiet moment, "Fire…" he said in an eager voice.

A burst of satisfaction filled him as the main display noted the instant annihilation of an enemy destroyer squadron. He was happy that the enemy did not turn and retreat, but continued their vain attempt to close the range to engage his ships. Anticipation filled him. He couldn't wait until he could give the order for his ships to advance and engage the enemy.

Feelings of contentment and satisfaction flowed through him as another group of enemy ships — light cruisers this time — was hit by fire from the platforms. Those ships were destroyed or crippled — left to drift dead in space. His thoughts were interrupted as one of his subordinates made a report.

"Prelate, sensors are detecting another defold taking place."

"Position? Composition and size of the force?" Dejan asked, worried that his fleet would be caught in crossfire.

It took a moment before the report came and the display updated.

"The defold point is outside synchro cannon range at an oblique angle to us."

"How many ships?" Dejan asked impatiently as his mind worked on how to counter this unexpected move.

It seemed to take an unusually long time before the report came, "Just one ship. Labelled as unknown type and class…"


	17. Nemesis has arrived

**CHAPTER SEVENTEEN:  
Nemesis has arrived**

" _…The SDF-4 was based on the same design as the original SDF-3 (also called the Pioneer-Class Super Dimensional Fortress) the REF had used in their home universe. Other than a 'few minor' improvements recommended by Chief Larson, the ship design was an exact duplicate to its predecessor. This meant that this ship and the successive ships built in this class, with their main Reflex Cannon, were {and still are} the most powerful warships in the galaxy. Despite how powerful and dominant the SDF-4 and her sister ships would become, the SDF-4's rushed introduction and debut into battle was almost its last…"_

— excerpt from _"Weapons of the Haydonite-Alliance War"_

 **oOoOo**

"Power levels building…"

Captain Wright nodded, hearing the updates from his bridge crew. The hum of the SDF-4's power systems grew louder as they built up, feeding energy to the twin boom array that was the ship's main Reflex Cannon.

"Captain, the fleet is taking a pounding!" Chief Larson reported.

James grimaced and nodded. He could read the tactical display monitors too. The situation didn't bode well for the Alliance fleet.

 _Time to change that_ , he thought as his grimace changed to a small expecting smile.

"Eighty seconds until full power, sir!"

"Prepare to fire on my command!" James ordered.

"What's our target, sir?" asked the crewman manning the weapons station.

James didn't hesitate, "Target the cluster of orbital platforms! They're causing the most damage… I want them gone!"

"Aye, sir!"

Suddenly the crewman manning the engineering station shouted out, "Sir! We're getting a pulse feedback through the main power conduits!"

 _Shit!_

"Chief!"

"I'm on it!" Larson replied, moving quickly over to the engineering station.

Time felt as if it had slowed to a crawl as James watched Larson as she worked at the engineering console, pushing buttons in a frantic effort.

"Chief, talk to me!"

"One sec, sir!" Larson said, not looking up from the console.

"We don't have the time, Chief!"

There was a momentary pause and Larson finally looked up from the console. The look on her face didn't give James any confidence, "How bad?" he asked.

"Sir, the power system is getting a feedback."

"What the hell does that mean Chief?" James asked, cursing to himself about what else could go wrong right now.

"It means we never ran the main gun at full power to test everything," Rachel replied with a grim look.

"We're only going to get one shot and then we're going to blow out some of power conduits," she added.

"I'll repeat my question. How bad?"

"The ship will hold together, but we'll lose main power." Rachel answered with a grim voice.

"How long to repair?"

"Sir, we'll need at _least_ four days to pull the damaged conduit and install new ones. Luckily, we're tied into the Fantoma's power systems. We'll still have power to operate our forward particle beam batteries and give us some forward shield coverage, but that will be pushing it."

"And we can't do anything to stop the firing…" James added in a quiet voice.

"No, sir…"

"Then we better make this shot count then, shouldn't we?" James replied in a resigned voice.

 **oOoOo**

Dejean evaluated the report of this new arrival. He tried to figure out who and what this new unknown was. It was closing, but it wasn't yet in range of his ships or the synchro cannons on his platforms. Despite a strange unsettling feeling growing inside him, he dismissed the new ship as only a minor threat he could dispose of at his leisure. He decided upon tasking one defense platform to destroy the unknown ship once it was in range.

 _It is only one ship… what can one ship do?_

"Prelate, we are detecting a high energy buildup emanating from the unknown ship!"

"Is it a weapon?" he asked still feeling uneased.

He got his answer… just not in the way he expected as the ship opened fire.

 **oOoOo**

The Arcadia's War Room erupted in wild cheers as the holographic display updated to show the Haydonite orbital platforms destroyed or severely damaged, rendering them useless. Coulson was elated and surprised as everyone else in the room. The Arcadia's sensors had shown the unidentified ship. They'd been trying to figure out if this new ship was a threat or not when Aaron's face had flashed on the display screen from the bridge.

He'd been stunned to hear the Commander identify the ship as the SDF-3. He hadn't doubted his subordinate and had been ordering communications to be established with the ship when it opened fire. The fire power that the ship had unleashed was staggering. Coulson was now dealing with how the battle had tilted once again when one of the communication techs called out.

"Sir, I have an incoming transmission from a ship identifying itself as the SDF-4!"

The General's eyes went wide and the wisp of a smile formed as he imagined who was calling him. He could only think of one person who would show up at a time like this. The smile faded in surprise when Captain Wright's face appeared on the large video display.

"Sir, Admiral Coleiro sends his compliments," James said with a surprising grim look on his face.

Coulson suddenly noticed alarms shrieking in the background over the video link, "Captain, what's the problem?"

"Sending the SDF-4 here was a gamble as all her systems hadn't been completed or fully tested. We've blown out some of our power conduits firing our main gun..."

"How bad is it?" Coulson asked glancing towards the holographic display. He noted that some of the Haydonites ships were reorienting towards the SDF-4 and were trying to close on an intercept course.

"We still have propulsion, some of our forward batteries and shielding. Unfortunately that one shot was all we had… I wish we could've done more," James said in an apologetic tone.

"You got rid of those platforms, Captain. That's given us a chance," Coulson said.

"Sir, we've plotted a course to rendezvous with the fleet. We don't have much, but we can add our remaining firepower to yours," James said.

Coulson nodded and then the video link was cut. He wondered why Admiral Coleiro wasn't here.

 _He's got something else planned_ , Coulson thought as his attention refocused on the continuing battle.

 **oOoOo**

Dejean studied the latest tactical data as his flagship's holographic display updated. He felt both wary and confused. At first, he had dismissed the new arrival as being inconsequential to the battle. That opinion changed when the unknown had unleashed an unprecedented amount of firepower taking out all the orbital platforms that had been tearing up the Alliance fleet.

Despite the shock, he reacted, ordering his fleet to disperse to not make them a single target. He'd been considering ordering the bulk of his fleet to attack the new arrival — to remove the threat — when it changed directions towards the Alliance fleet. He found himself even more perplexed as it hadn't fired anymore at his ships.

 _What are those organics planning?_

Thoughts about this new threat and how he would combat it were cut short as one of his officers reported, "Prelate, we have scanned the enemy ship. We are getting fluctuating power readings. We have also scanned and determined that the ship only has shielding covering the forward section."

Hearing this report, Dejean found himself more confused and perplexed about what was happening. He needed more information to make a proper decision, "What does the Awareness say?"

"The Awareness states this must be a new ship design. It is probable that this ship has been sent into battle before it has been completed or fully tested. Sensors have identified that a heavy cruiser-class ship is attached to the ship's hull. This may indicate that this smaller ship is providing power and maybe even propulsion. It is possible that this new ship design is experiencing problems with its power systems preventing further firing of its main weapon. This hypothesis would seem to be supported by the fact that the ship is now moving quickly to join the rest of the organic ships," replied the officer.

Not for one moment did Dejean even consider that the Awareness might be mistaken as he processed the report. It had looked as if the battle had swung back in favor of the Alliance, but all was not as it would seem. Yes, his orbital platforms that had done the most damage were gone, but his fleet was untouched. He still had more dreadnoughts and battleships — with more firepower — than the enemy had. He had no hesitations as he issued new orders, "Launch our reserve fighters! Have the fleet regroup and close up! We will advance and destroy the organics!" he said in an excited voice.

 **oOoOo**

The Arcadia shook violently as her shields absorbed another hit. General Coulson ignored it as his focus was on the holographic display. A painful grimace flashed on his face as an icon — representing one of his battlecruisers — disappeared. The ship had died after taking a pounding of concentrated fire from several Haydonite dreadnoughts. Checking the status of the troopships carrying the Marines, he let out a small sigh of relief. They had only taken minor damage from the attacking enemy fighters. By diverting Skull, Grim Reapers and the rest of the Veritech squadrons, they had kept the enemy off those ships. He'd also ordered the Invid ships to be deployed to support the fighter squadrons in protecting the Marines. He didn't need to be told that the Haydonites were deploying their PSI jammers as he'd seen Tashe struggling to control and direct her people.

While deploying both the fighters and Invid mecha had protected the troopships, it had unfortunately left the rest of his fleet open to fighter attack. Also with the fighters deployed elsewhere, Coulson had lost one of his main offensive tools to take on the advancing Haydonite warships. With the SDF-4 — despite the loss of her main gun — now joined up with his fleet, he was responding to the enemy's incoming fire in kind. He'd known from the beginning that his fleet would be outweighed and outgunned by the larger and heavier armed Haydonite warships. Now, that disparity was taking its toll on his fleet and his people. He tried not to think about the number of distress signals his flagship had received from damaged warships and escape pods.

"Sir! The fleet is getting torn to shreds!" Captain Tami said taking Coulson's attention away — briefly — from the tactical display.

"No…" Coulson said in hushed voice trying to deny what was happening. His eyes locked on to the holographic image of Earth… It beckoned and taunted him, holding him for what seemed like an eternity.

 _We're so close…_

The ship shook again which broke the spell and brought him back to the awful reality of the moment. This attack had all been a gamble on his part from the start and he'd lost. He pushed the cost of his failed gamble from his mind, there would be time to deal with it later.

Captain Tami saw the look on the General's face. She understood and sympathized with her commander, but the situation was deteriorating, "Sir, we have to withdraw! If the Haydonites get in firing range of the troopships, it will be a massacre!" the Garudan said in an urgent voice.

Coulson took his eyes off the holographic image of Earth. A sense of failure filled him as he looked at his aide and then looked around the War Room. He stuffed the feeling down — for now — as his Garudan aide was right. The priority now was to protect the troopships and save as much of the fleet as he could.

"Captain, inform the fleet that we are withdrawing. Contact Commander Mashal and General McLean to withdraw their troopships. Have the fighter squadrons and Invid ships stay with them. The fleet will hold to cover them until they can execute a fold back to Tirol. Understood?"

"Yes, sir!" Tami replied.

 **oOoOo**

"Prelate!"

"Yes, I see it!" Dejean said dismissively as he watched the enemy ships make their movements on his ship's holographic display.

"The organics want to disengage and retreat... I do not think so! All fleet units continue the advance! We will not allow them the chance to get away," Dejean said with an almost gleeful tone in his voice.

 **oOoOo**

The Arcadia heaved again from another hit. Coulson's face became grimmer, seeing that the Haydonites weren't going to make it easy for him or his ships to withdraw. The troopships and fighter squadrons would probably escape unscathed, but for his fleet units that would be another matter.

"Captain Tami… Have our ships that are most damaged, but that can still execute spacefolds to fall back to designated point Lambda-5. Make sure that all escape pods and rescue craft are routed there too."

"Yes, sir!"

Coulson watched as his aide turned to execute his orders, "Captain…"

"Sir?" the Garudan said turning back to face her commander.

"Order all ships that can't fold, but can still fight to form up around us. Is that understood, Captain?"

Tami took a moment before nodding and then went to carry out the General's orders. She understood that the General would keep the Arcadia here until the last moment. Either the Arcadia would fold — taking as many damaged ships as she could within her spacefold field or get caught by the advancing Haydonite ships.

 **oOoOo**

Willow had watched the battle unfold. She didn't know everything that had gone on, but it was plain as day that their side was losing this battle. When she overheard the orders for ships to retreat, she fought the urge to scream in frustration. She found it hard to believe they were going to run away after coming so far. Her frustration was tempered as she saw several holographic icons — representing Alliance ships — wink out of existence, telling her that more people had died. Her thoughts and concern turned to Kennedy… and Samantha, but she heard the fighter squadrons were covering the troopships and they would fold first.

 _At least Kennedy and Sam will be safe_ , she thought with some relief. That relief moved away from the forefront of her thoughts as doubts about her survival replaced them as the Arcadia shuddered from another hit and alarms sounded.

Looking around the War Room, she saw everyone doing something, yet she felt helpless and useless as she stood there. She wished there was a magic spell or incantation she could invoke to make the enemy disappear, but no spell or power — she had — could change what was happening.

Her gaze settled upon Tashe, the Invid had been quiet and statue-like during the battle. Willow saw the Invid concentrating to fight through the enemy PSI jamming to control and direct the Invid mecha fighting with the fleet. The ship shook from another hit. She saw more worried looks on the crewman's faces and heard calls over the ship's PA system calling for damage control parties to report in. She looked again towards Tashe and suddenly noticed a different look washing across the Invid's face. She seemed more relaxed… almost joyous. Willow was surprised by the change in the Invid, finding herself drawn to her. As she got closer she saw the look intensify on Tashe's face, "Are you okay? Is something wrong?" she asked, not sure of what she could do to help the Invid if she was in trouble.

Willow was caught off-guard as the Invid stared at her, but it was as if she was looking right through her… to somewhere or someone else.

"I hear them… I can hear them… I understand now," she repeated in a hushed voice.

"Hear who? Who can you hear?" Willow asked getting more worried and alarmed in the Invid's change of behavior.

"I can hear her… I can hear him… I can hear all of them…" was all that Tashe said. Leaving Willow even more confused as the Invid began moving towards General Coulson.

 **oOoOo**

"Sir, the troopships have reached point Lambda-5. Our damaged ships are falling back towards that point too. They should be there in ten minutes," Tami reported.

Coulson didn't need to ask about the status of the Haydonite fleet. The tactical display showed that the enemy fleet was still advancing on him.

 _It's going to be a long ten minutes_ , Coulson thought grimly.

"Captain Tami, inform the fleet we will hold our position for the next ten minutes and then begin our withdrawal towards point Lambda-5. Inform the ships already there to commence spacefolds to return to Tirol."

"Ye—" Tami said to only be cut off as a shout filled the War Room, catching everyone by surprise.

"WAIT!"

Coulson and Tami, along with everyone else in the War Room turned to see Ambassador Tashe hurrying towards the General.

"Ambassador Tashe, what's the problem?" Coulson asked in a surprised and concerned voice.

"You must not retreat, General!" the Invid said as she came closer, her face and eyes almost glowing which confused and concerned Coulson and Tami even more.

Coulson shook his head, "Tashe, we have to retreat… We don't have enough ships and we're outgunned. We'll lose everyone!" he said in anguished filled voice.

"You must stay, General… The fleet must stand!" Tashe said in a firm demanding voice.

Only one question came to Coulson's forethoughts, "Why? Why do we have to stay?" he asked in disbelief.

"Because they are coming…" was all that Tashe said.

Before Coulson could ask _who_ was coming, Aaron's face flashed on to the main video display in the War Room, "General!" he said in an urgent voice.

Coulson felt himself being pulled in different directions and for a moment found himself not sure of which problem and person to deal with first. He recovered turning towards Aaron's face on the video screen, "What is it, Commander?"

"Sir, sensors are picking up the beginnings of a massive spacefold!"

"Where? Where is it occurring?" he asked trying to process this new threat.

A look of disbelief washed across Aaron's face which was readable on the video screen, "Everywhere! All around us!"

 **oOoOo**

Dejean looked upon the holographic images that portrayed the Alliance fleet in disarray and retreating. He felt the hate sweep over him.

"Continue the advance. Destroy every last organic ship! There will be no prisoners taken!" he ordered.

 _Once they are destroyed, we can finish up back on the planet…_

One of his officers approached, "Sir, we have identified one of the enemy ships… It is the Arcadia!" he reported.

A sense of joy filled Dejean at this news. For too long that name had been a curse upon the Hegemony and his people.

"Inform all ships to target the Arcadia… We will destroy it and strike a blow against the Alliance by removing her and what she symbolizes," he ordered.

Another officer spoke, "Sir, we are picking up the formation of an incoming spacefold!"

Dejean was surprised as the Awareness had not provided any warning of this, "Who? Where are they?" he uttered out as the holographic display started to change, suddenly filling with new ship icons.

The Prelate stood staring at the display as more — hundreds more — continued to just appear into existence all around the Alliance fleet and his fleet.

"It cannot be…" he muttered, "It cannot be… They are all—"

 **oOoOo**

"Invid! They're all Invid ships, sir! Sensors classify them as Mollusk-class Carriers," Captain Tami reported, the shock and disbelief evident in her voice.

Stunned disbelief hung over the War Room. General Coulson found it hard to shake off as more Invid ships continued to appear on the tactical display. He finally found his voice, "How many ships?" he asked quietly.

"The count is over two thousand with more still arriving," Tami said in voice that seemed not to believe what she'd just said.

 _My God!_ was all that passed through Coulson's mind as he tried to grasp what was going on around him.

A crewman shouted out, "Sir! Something is happening to the Invid ships!"

"Put it on the screen! I want to see it!" Coulson ordered.

Stunned silence filled the War Room as everyone there looked towards the main display screen as it came alive showing the space around the fleet filled with Invid carriers. The carriers, operating as if they were a single entity, all opened both their upper and lower huge clam-shaped doors at the same time. The carriers were filled with mecha.

So many questions filled the General's mind, but he couldn't ask any of them. All he could say in a voice filled with awe was, "My God!"

 **oOoOo**

Dejean found himself speechless as the Invid fleet defolded in space around him. He hadn't seen an Invid fleet this size even during the desperate fighting of the Second Battle of Optera. The bulk of the Invid fleet never ventured outside of their home system because of the PSI jammers, so the Hegemony only had estimates of the strength of the Invid. Panicked thoughts filled his head.

 _They wouldn't deploy all their forces here and leave their homeworld unprotected! If this fleet is only a small fraction of their strength, they will—_

"Ensure that all jammers are set to maximum," Dejean brusquely ordered. He kept telling himself that there should be no problem because they had their PSI jammers, but a sense of dread pulled on him.

"All jammers have been set to maximum, Prelate!"

Knowing all the PSI jammers in his fleet were operating at maximum should have given Dejean a sense of confidence. Yet, he couldn't shake the feeling of dread pulling on him.

"Recall all fighters. Order the fleet to fall back," he said catching his subordinates by surprise.

He saw the questioning looks from his subordinates, "This is only as a precaution to allow us space to destroy the Invid ships," he said in an unconvincing voice.

He watched as the tactical display updated, showing his pitiful few ships when compared to the huge Invid fleet. His dread grew as the huge doors on the carriers opened then released an unending wave of mecha from them.

 **oOoOo**

"My god!" Coulson whispered as he and the others in the War Room watched the Invid mecha launch from their carriers. He'd heard stories and seen video clips of the Invid from the other universe, but what he was watching here dwarfed anything he'd seen or could imagine. He and the others watched as thousands… tens of thousands… hundreds of thousands of Invid mecha streaked towards the Haydonite fleet.

 _It's like a horde of locusts descending on… No, horde doesn't even begin to describe this. It's a tsunami going to engulf the enemy_ , he thought.

He finally regained some focus, turning towards the Invid Ambassador, "Tashe, how? What about the jammers? Is the Regess here?"

Tashe's deep dark purple eyes met the General's eyes, "The Regess is still on Optera… I can hear her and the rest of the hive. I can feel their purpose. He leads us now."

Coulson's eyes went wider at this revelation, but he was still confused over what was happening, "Who is he? What purpose?"

"He is the Regent. He has shown us the way. The Invid from the universe I came from became what they were after the Robotech Masters took away the Flower of Life from us and defiled our homeworld. Here the Shadows sought to keep us down… keep us from achieving our destiny. The Regent has given us what we need to end this war… to become what we are destined to be," Tashe said, stunning the room into silence again.

Willow was stunned like everyone else about this reversal in their fortunes of war. She found she had no words to describe what she was feeling. Overhearing the exchange between General Coulson and Tashe, she blurted out without thinking, "G-Given you what? What did h-he give you?" she asked in a quiet voice that seemed to echo in the War Room.

Tashe turned and looked at her. Willow shuddered as she looked into those dark alien eyes. The Invid studied her for a moment as if she was considering her question.

"Rage… The Regent has given us rage," the Invid answered in a calm voice.

 **oOoOo**

Invid mecha descended on the Haydonite fleet like a raging tidal wave of death. Prelate Dejean could only feel a sense of helplessness as he watched the Hegemony's worst nightmare play out in real-time.

More explosions and death filled the space around Earth as the front wave of Invid mecha engulfed those Haydonite ships at the outer edges of the fleet. Desperate Haydonite ships fired every weapon they had, but the Invid they killed was only a pinprick in what was coming at them. For every Invid that died, a dozen filled its place and their deaths only enraged the surviving Invid even more.

Invid plasma cannon fire raked ships causing shields to fail and blow chunks out of hulls. When plasma weapons couldn't do enough damage, mecha went after the hulls with their armored-piercing pincers. As the Invid overwhelmed the leading ranks of the Haydonite fleet, exploding and dead Haydonite ships were left littered in their wake.

Dejean was transfixed as his fleet was literally being torn apart around him. They were killing hundreds… thousands of Invid, but they were dealing with a force easily numbering over a million fighters. There were so many that his sensors couldn't provide an accurate count. Shaking off his paralysis, he sent out orders for the fleet to disperse and execute spacefolds as soon as possible. He realized that the Hegemony needed to be warned of what had happened here. If the Invid had neutralized or overcome the PSI jammers, then his race faced the spectre of disaster that was unprecedented.

 _The Awareness foresaw that this could happen when we made contact with them! If the Invid are this mobilized and organized, then our defeat… Our extinction is all but assured…_

"Prepare to spacefold!" his voice cracked as he tried to keep his fear and panic at bay.

 _Our dreadnoughts have more armor and shields… We should be able to absorb the fighter attacks long enough to escape from here…_

His thoughts were focused on the attacking fighters, escaping and how he would push the Hegemony to finish the Neutron-S missiles to use. He missed that the fighters weren't the only Invid ships that were attacking. Hidden among the massed groups of fighters were some of the carriers that had launched them. They only carried short-range attack missiles and point-defense weapons, which made them no match in a straight up fight, but that is not how they would be used.

Dejean only became aware of what was happening upon witnessing two Invid carriers ram into one of his dreadnoughts, causing all three ships to explode. Even the destruction and damage unleashed on both sides by the explosion didn't slow down the Invid attack.

"FORGET THE FIGHTERS! TARGET THE CARRIERS!" Dejean ordered as the panic and fear took a hold of him.

Ships' weapons targeted the Invid carriers, but their shields afforded them more than enough protection for them to complete their death runs. New mini-suns flared and then faded in the space around Earth as the Haydonite fleet was destroyed.

Dejean's flagship was among one of the last ships destroyed. He was staring at his tactical display, still trying to comprehend what had happened and why, when his ship was rammed by several Invid carriers, the explosions consuming them all.

 **oOoOo**

Coulson along with the rest of his people watched in stunned silence as the Invid destroyed the Haydonite fleet. The ferocity of their attack left the General speechless. He'd thought he'd seen it all when the fighters tore into the enemy, but the carriers ramming the larger enemy ships was beyond all comprehension.

"Sir?" Captain Tami said trying to get the General's attention.

It took a moment for Coulson to regain his focus, "Yes, Captain?"

"Sensors report that other than a few fighters between us and the Invid, all Haydonite warships have been destroyed."

"So, no survivors?" Coulson asked.

"Uh… no, sir. The Invid are mopping up… They're not taking prisoners," Tami said in a quiet voice.

Coulson nodded in understanding, "Did any of the Haydonite ships escape?"

"That's the strange thing, sir. The Invid were pretty organized and ruthless in taking out all the larger Haydonite ships. Sensors detected that one light cruiser executed a spacefold," Tami said, the confusion evident in her voice.

"How is that, Captain?"

"The Invid had the ship surrounded, they appeared to hold back and allowed it to escape."

Before Coulson could follow up further, the main video display flashed. Dawn's face appeared on the main display screen, "General, we're receiving communications from one of the Invid ships. They are identifying themselves as the Regent!"

Coulson didn't hesitate, "Thank you, Lieutenant! Put them through!"

Of everything that happened today, Coulson couldn't have been more surprised and shocked when the face appeared on the main video display. He found himself speechless again as he stared at the face that resembled that of the man that was not only his commander, but someone he had called a friend. He tried to make sense of what he was seeing. For a moment, he questioned his sanity and whether this was all real, especially after all the events that had transpired.

"A-Admiral?" Coulson finally said.

 _"I am not him... The one you called Admiral Coleiro is no more. He has given himself to the Shapings. His sacrifice created my existence and allowed for my species to come to your aid and destroy the Haydonites…"_

Coulson staggered at this news. He was barely aware of the shock echoing through the War Room as the words hit everyone. He pulled himself out of his shock enough to speak, "T-The A-Admiral is d-dead?" he asked. His voice was shaky as he processed what he was hearing.

 _"He is no more,"_ the Regent said in a firm voice studying the human. The memories of the other told him that this human had been a good friend and someone that could be trusted and relied upon. The Regent continued, _"He knew your attack to free your planet would fail. He knew there was no alternative… that this was his path. You should know he made this choice freely and embraced his destiny."_

Coulson found it hard to believe the Admiral was dead as he looked at the spitting image of him. It was only as he looked closer he realized that this Regent looked younger than the Admiral. He had slightly longer hair with no grey showing. The scar that had run down the left side of the Admiral's face was still there, but it was only a faint outline of what it had been. What stood out the most was the Regent's eyes. The Admiral's eyes had always been dark, but this _person's_ eyes were a deep dark purple. Coulson glanced towards Tashe and then back at the Regent. He could see how alien they looked now. He was brought back to the moment as the Regent spoke.

 _"We have removed the Haydonite fleet from orbit. You may begin your landings on the planet, General."_

Coulson recovered enough to understand the tactical situation as he accepted what was happening. He pushed the pain and anguish of losing a good friend away for now. He knew there would be time enough later to mourn in his cabin where he could scream and rail against the universe.

"Understood… I'll send the orders for our Marines to begin landings," Coulson replied in a voice that spoke with no emotion in it.

A nagging thought pulled at the General, "Our sensors showed that a light cruiser managed to escape—"

 _"We let it go,"_ the Regent replied not letting the human finish his question.

"Y-You let it go?" Coulson asked incredulously.

 _"Yes… We wanted to send a message,"_ the Regent said in a calm voice.

"A message?"

 _"We want the Haydonites to know what happened here today. We want them to know we are coming for them,"_ the Regent said, the hate and hardness coming through in his voice.

There was a long pause and Coulson thought the communication was over. He was caught off-guard when the Regent spoke again.

 _"My fleet has thirty carriers loaded with Shock Troopers. We will land on the planet to assist the Marines. I will lead the landing force myself."_

Coulson was still trying to comprehend everything that was happening. He understood that this Regent had overcome the Haydonite PSI jamming, allowing the full force of the Invid to be used in the battle. It was just dawning on him that with the Invid now able to fight freely and Earth now completely in the war that this whole nightmare would be over soon. A fleeting sense of hope flared in him. It was tempered when looking into the face of the Invid on the screen and remembering the cost that this battle had extracted and his fleet had paid. The last thing he wanted was to lose the Regent in any unnecessary ground fighting.

"Isn't that risky? Wouldn't it be better if you waited in orbit until we've secured a beachhead on the planet?" Coulson asked in a concerned voice.

 _"There is risk in everything we do,"_ the Regent replied.

General Coulson arched his eyes in surprise as the Regent sounded so much like Admiral Coleiro in his tone.

 _"_ _Besides, I have a promise to keep,"_ the Regent added as he cut the channel.


	18. A Promise Kept

**CHAPTER EIGHTEEN:  
A Promise Kept **

" _…When I found out what Paul {Admiral Coleiro} had done, I was caught between hating him and mourning the loss of someone that was… my family. When I saw the Regent, my first thoughts were that this was all some joke being played on a cosmic scale. All I know was after {The Battle of Earth} I knew I was done. I'd seen too much… lost too many friends and family. All I wanted was to get drunk and find someone to go to bed with to make the pain go away. Giles was more than willing to assist with both…"_

— Rachel Larson

 **oOoOo**

 _"Look alive, people! We got incoming boogies at our three o'clock high! Tally-ho!"_

Kennedy acknowledged as she turned her Alpha to face the incoming Haydonite fighters. A number of enemy fighters had survived the destruction of the Haydonite fleet. They knew they were doomed and were trying to make suicide runs on the troopships. So far, Kennedy and the rest of the fighters had protected the larger ships from any damage, though there had been a few close calls.

As her flight section closed to engage the incoming fighters, she found her thoughts drifting to when the Invid fleet arrived. Gasps and shouts of surprise filled the squadron tactical channels as unending waves of Invid carriers appeared out of nowhere. Kennedy couldn't ever recall seeming a more beautiful sight as all the carriers launched a storm of fighters on the Haydonite fleet. Her thoughts were interrupted as her communication channel crackled again.

 _"Heads up, people! Looks like we've got a bunch of Invid fighters that want those Haydonites!"_

Kennedy saw the large group of Invid fighters swooping in to intercept the Haydonites before Skull Squadron. She activated her com channel, "Skull Leader, those Invid look like they really want those bastards. I think we should let them have first crack and we can do clean-up if needed."

There was a momentary pause before her squadron leader replied, "Roger that, Skull-Nine. I think we can let the Invid have their shot at them… They look really motivated!"

Kennedy added her chuckle to the chorus of chuckles over the squadron channel. The laughing quickly disappeared as the Invid fighters tore into the Haydonite fighters.

 _"Jesus! Did you see what that Invid did?"_ one of the Skull fighter pilots exclaimed.

Kennedy blinked as she hadn't believed what she'd just seen either. One of the Invid fighters had gotten a Haydonite fighter on its six o'clock position. It appeared as if the Invid was done for when it suddenly changed direction, inverting itself and came down on the unprepared Haydonite. The Invid showed no hesitation or mercy as it drove one of its armored pincers into the side of the enemy fighter. It then opened up with its plasma cannons, shredding the enemy craft to pieces and causing it to explode.

 _"Did that Invid just pull a Fokker's Feint?"_ questioned another Skull pilot, her voice showing their disbelief.

Kennedy watched speechlessly as she had just seen an Invid pull a maneuver that only the "best of the best" Veritech pilots had mastered. Until that moment there had been no doubts about who were the best fighter pilots in the galaxy. Kennedy — and many others — were now seriously watching and studying as the Invid fighters tore apart the few remaining Haydonite fighters. Her evaluation of the Invid was cut short as the communications channel crackled again.

 _"Attention all fleet units… Standby for a message from Fleet Command…"_

This immediately caught Kennedy's attention and had her wondering what was going on. She recognized Dawn's voice on the communication channel, but it sounded strained. Not something you'd expect after your side had just destroyed the enemy. Kennedy suddenly got a worried feeling as General Coulson addressed the fleet.

 **oOoOo**

 _"…With the help of our Invid allies we have defeated the Haydonite fleet to open the way for us to retake Earth. We have suffered heavy casualties in this effort to liberate Earth with many making the ultimate sacrifice to help remove the Haydonite threat. In the light of our destruction of our enemy it is with a heavy heart I have to make this announcement. Admiral Paul Coleiro is dead… He gave his life to make it possible for the Invid to break the hold of the enemy's PSI jammers on them. I don't have all the details of how, but I know he made his sacrifice knowingly and willingly. His death made it possible for the Invid to send fleet units here to help us. The Admiral has now made it possible to unleash the full military power of the Invid to help the rest of the Alliance in our war against the Haydonite Hegemony…"_

General McLean watched with a stone-cold, emotionless face as General Coulson broadcast his message to the fleet. McLean looked around the command center, aboard his Anaconda-class Assault Transport, studying his staff's reactions as they watched the video broadcast. Despite the mix of different races in his command staff, he could easily read the stunned shock that etched each of his officer's faces as they tried to grasp the news. He was lucky in some respects as he'd been briefed by General Coulson before his broadcast to the fleet. McLean'd had time to digest the news of the Admiral's death before everyone else, but he still found himself not believing it. He suddenly became aware the broadcast had ended as silence filled the room.

McLean waited patiently as his staff turned to face him, the disbelief still hanging over them. A few years ago, he would have found it strange to be in a room full of aliens mixing with humans. Now he considered none of the people in this room anything else other than fellow Marines. They had fought in numerous battles and campaigns on dozens of planets and each and everyone one of his officers had proven themselves.

 _I need to shake them out of this… I need to get them to focus_ , McLean thought. He had expressed concerns to Coulson about announcing the Admiral's death. He'd agreed that it was better to break the news now as it would leak out, harming morale at the wrong moment.

"All right, Marines!" McLean said in a harsh tone that caught him by surprise. His officers stiffened at his voice. He knew he had their attention even though they were still dealing with the news.

"The Admiral, the Invid and the Navy did their job… they've cleared the space around Earth so we can land," he paused, seeing his officers nod and acknowledge his statement.

"I do not… I repeat, I do not intend to let their sacrifice… His sacrifice go to waste! We will land on the planet and we will kill every last one of those bastard Haydonites… Do you hear me?"

There was no hesitation from his officers, "WE HEAR YOU, SIR!"

 _Chesty Puller himself couldn't ask for better Marines!_ McLean thought proudly. Looking over his people, he saw the stunned looks change to ones of determination and anger.

"Our original plan was to land the whole division in North America and establish a beachhead. The follow-up divisions are due to arrive here in forty-eight hours. The original plan was to reinforce and then expand our bridgehead outwards to retake the planet…"

McLean saw the nods of acknowledgment among his officers.

"I've been informed by General Coulson that the Invid have brought thirty carriers full of Shock Troopers to provide ground support to the invasion," McLean let this information sink in. It didn't take long to see the change among his staff as they realized where their General was going.

"First brigade and my HQ will land in the first wave at the primary LZ. We will secure and hold! Second brigade will land at the alternate LZ in Europe while Third brigade will land to reinforce where needed. Destroids and Hovertanks will land with each brigade to provide heavy support. Air support will be provided by Veritech squadrons. General Coulson has informed me that the Invid will be tied into our tactical channels and can be called in for support. I will address the division, to let them know what is happening," McLean paused again meeting each Marine's eyes.

"We will not wait! We will take the planet back… Today! We will take back the planet or we will die trying! Is that understood?"

Shouts of "YES, SIR!" echoed through the command center.

 **oOoOo**

Gunnery Sergeant Deru's body may have been sitting in the Predator Assault Transport as it made its approach towards Earth, but her mind was at another time… another place.

The Karbarran along with everyone else heard General Coulson's broadcast. Before the announcement that Admiral Coleiro was dead, the transport had been filled with the chatter and anxiety, for marines, which was normal before a landing. After… the transport was as quiet as a tomb.

Deru couldn't believe the Admiral was dead. To her, he'd been someone larger than life. He had brought hope and helped free her people and other races. Her mind drifted to that day the humans and their allies had come to Karbarra. The fighting had been intense and desperate as the Haydonites were determined to make the Kabarrans suffer. She could still recall the exact moment she saw her first humans. It was a small group of armored infantry, arriving by assault shuttle on the edge of their settlement. She later learned that it had been a Special Forces unit sent to set up a roadblock to prevent Haydonite forces from converging on the primary LZ. She was one of the few females that had stayed to watch the children of their settlement. All those that could fight had gone to the rally locations to get weapons from the hidden caches. Her town was helpless as Haydonite ground units closed on them…

To this today, she still doesn't completely understand what the word "Spetsnaz" means. All she knows is that small group of humans fought — and died — holding off the Haydonites until reinforcements arrived. There was many a time when the human's defensive lines looked as if they would break. The humans rallied each time, knowing the Haydonites would massacre everyone if they broke through, counterattacking and throwing the enemy back.

Their bravery and sacrifice not only saved her life, but also her children and everyone else in the settlement. After Karbarra's liberation and joining the Alliance, she decided to repay what the others had done and she'd enlisted in the Marines. Almost four years later, she was now a Gunnery Sergeant in her company's reconnaissance platoon and about to make a landing on another Haydonite-occupied planet.

This time it was different. This time she was part of the force that would free the human's homeworld. She'd thought this would balance the scales for what the humans had done for her world. When she'd heard General Coulson's broadcast it had shaken her along with the rest of her platoon. Her gaze went to her human platoon leader and saw him trying to deal with the news.

General McLean's voice came over the ship's PA system. Deru and others listened as their General, told them they had suffered a huge loss with the Admiral's death. Yet with his sacrifice, it made it possible for the Invid to add thirty carriers, loaded with mecha, to the invasion. His finals words reverberated, telling the division that rather than just secure a foothold on the planet and wait for reinforcements they would take the planet back in one stroke. His last words still echoed mixing with Deru's thoughts and memories.

 _"…The Admiral and others sacrificed to get us groundside… We will not fail them! We will not break the faith with them!"_

She stood up, making her way past the rest of her seated platoon to where her platoon leader was sitting.

"Lieutenant," she said in low voice.

"Gunny... What's the problem?" the Lieutenant asked, his face and voice still showing the shock and disbelief.

"Sir, your people have fought and sacrificed to free my people and others. We… I will not forget what you humans have done for us. As Admiral Coleiro gave his life…" Deru paused as she extended her left arm, showing her paw, "I pledge my blood! We will free your world or die!"

Extending her claws from her paw, she curled it into a fist, sinking her claws into her paw. She extracted her claws, showing the shocked looking officer the blood on her paw. Deru then placed her paw on her chest where her heart was, leaving a bloody paw print on her body armor.

The Lieutenant found himself unable to speak as he watched the Gunnery Sergeant make her pledge. He was surprised as the other Karbarrans in his platoon stood up and made the same oath. The officer was a hardened veteran of the war, but he suddenly found his eyes burning as the Karbarrans were joined by the rest of the platoon. Those races without claws drew combat knifes, slicing their left hands making the same oath, pledging their lives to free Earth.

 **oOoOo**

From the far end of the assault transport, Samantha watched the scene playing out with fascination and a sense of awe. In her short exposure to the Alliance, she'd found a new sense of pride in her species. She'd heard the stories and accomplishments of Admiral Coleiro, General Coulson and the others. Seeing the Lieutenant join his platoon in their blood oath. It suddenly dawned on her that for her and the rest of the human race, things would never be the same. There was no going back. Humanity would have to grow up if they were going to take their place in the galaxy.

 _The people with the Arcadia mission have set a high bar for the rest of us to meet_ , she thought as she watched the Marines finish their blood oath.

"I almost feel sorry for those Haydonite bastards. A Karbarran blood oath is not a trivial matter to them… especially for the females," a heavily Russian-accented voice said, catching Samantha by surprise.

Samantha turned to face the Special Forces soldier, he wasn't looking at her. His focus was on sharpening his combat knife. She shifted to look at the rest of the soldiers in the Special Forces unit she'd been assigned to. Before General Coulson's announcement, there had been the standard banter and talk as was expected. Afterwards there was stunned silence. Now all the soldiers had hard determined looks on their faces as they checked equipment and weapons.

All the soldiers were human, a mix from the SEALs, SAS and Spetsnaz units that had gone with the Arcadia. These soldiers now worked together as one unit — the elite of the Alliance's Special Forces. Their assignment and Samantha's was an important one. Once the invasion force landed, they were to make their way — with no stops or delays — to Washington. Samantha had orders from General Coulson to "secure and detain" President Kinsey until relieved by supporting forces. The Special Forces soldiers were there to make sure she got to the Whitehouse, removing any "roadblocks" that got in their way. She'd trained with this unit back on Tirol while the invasion forces were being readied and had no doubts about their ability to get her to the Whitehouse.

At first, she'd been a little concerned about the bulkiness of the Cyclone armor they all wore. After seeing what Haydonite Reavers looked like along with the capabilities of the power armor, she'd thrown herself into the training. In the short time they'd had to prepare, she had become proficient and comfortable in its use.

Samantha followed the other's lead and checked her equipment, starting with her Wolverine assault rifle. As she checked her equipment, her thoughts drifted between Willow and Riley. She'd been barely able to contain her worry for her former lover while the fleet was locked in battle. She'd cheered wildly like everyone else when the Invid fleet had made their auspices entrance. Now she thought about Riley, wondering how he was doing and if things could ever go back to the way they were between them.

Any further thoughts about her complicated personal life were interrupted as the PA system announced that their transport was beginning re-entry into Earth's atmosphere.

 **oOoOo**

The Regent studied the sensor displays on the console in his mecha. He could see the Alliance assault transports and dropships of the first wave beginning their entry into the planet's atmosphere. He'd been briefed by General Coulson on the changes to the ground attack. To assist, he had assigned fifteen carriers to accompany and support the first wave, holding the rest in reserve for the next landings.

He stared at the image of the small blue and white world on his mecha's display screen. A wave of emotions and memories that weren't his, washed over him. He felt the hive mind stir at his discomfort. He heard the Regess's thoughts and could feel her pain at the losses they had incurred.

 _It is the price we have to pay if we are to be free_ , he thought.

The Regess's voice echoed in his mind, _"I know, but they are my children… Their pain and suffering is mine."_

He understood as each Invid death had touched him too. He used it to motivate and fuel the fleet's attack on the enemy. A voice from the back of his mind told him it was all for the greater good not only for the Invid, but for _her_ as well. The Regent was caught off-guard and disturbed by this. The voice wasn't the Regess's or the hive's. More memories of _her_ flowed through him.

 _You're so close… so close to home_ , the same voice said as a strange emotion filled the Regent. It took him a moment to identify what it was.

 _Anticipation… I'm feeling anticipation…_

It took an extreme act of willpower on his part to push the memories and emotions down. As a semblance of normality returned, his focus went back to the planet and the invasion. The carriers going in with the first wave had started their entry into the planet's atmosphere. The Shock Troopers, led by Pincer Command Units would help the Alliance forces make short work of any enemy forces in the landing zone. What the Haydonites would face from those mecha would pale once he joined the battle. The Regent was looking forward to battling the Haydonites. Before leaving Optera, the Regess had presented him the latest and ultimate mecha ever designed by the Invid — the Royal Command Battloid. The weapons and power this mecha carried was unlike any used before by the Invid. It had been designed and built specifically for him and in his hands it was an instrument of death and destruction. There had been only one addition he requested before taking the mecha, which had caught the Regess by surprise. The picture of a hooded smiling human skull holding a curved metal weapon now adorned the plasma cannon/shield on his mecha's right arm. He didn't know where the idea or thought had come from, but it felt… _right_ , like it should be there… was meant to be there.

His scanners showed that the first wave was not meeting any opposition on their re-entries. His thoughts turned back to the current tactical situation.

 _At this rate we should be—_

A vision flashed through his head. He instantly recognized the work of The Shapings as they pulled away the curtain to show him a glimpse of the future. A battle was raging… vehicles and buildings were destroyed and burning. He suddenly saw her… riding through the maelstrom of death and destruction on a Cyclone. She was unleashing a barrage of missiles at Reavers, then moving in to engage them at close-quarters with glowing blades protruding from her arms.

 _I-I… I know where she is!_

There was no second thoughts or hesitation. In an instance, he sent his thoughts and commands to the crew of his flagship. They responded instantly as they realized _where_ they were going and for _who_. The Regent's carrier quickly gathered speed as it set an approach for re-entry. The flagship was followed by four more carriers, beginning their descent to the surface.

 **oOoOo**

A panicked voice filled the tactical channel, _"Alamo! Alamo! Alamo! Breakout to the Southeast… I repeat, go South by East!"_ they shouted.

Despite the explosions and weapons fire going off around him, the words immediately caught Riley's attention bringing dread and fear with it. The code words told him that the perimeter around Adamsville was collapsing and that their position was about to be overrun. His first thoughts went to Buffy and Faith. He hoped they heard the message and _actually_ did as they discussed earlier to get out of town if things got bad. A memory of how well Buffy listened to orders flashed through his head.

 _She'll listen this time? They'll both listen… won't they?_

Any further thoughts of what the two Slayers would or would not do was interrupted as a heavy machine gun roared from a nearby position. He watched as tracer rounds streaked towards armored figures that had appeared at the end of the street. A Humvee came roaring down the street, firing rounds from the 40mm grenade launcher mounted on top, at the advancing enemy. Riley ducked as return fire converged on the vehicle, taking it and the occupants out in a huge explosion.

 **oOoOo**

"We have to leave…"

Buffy couldn't see Faith's face through the tinted helmet visor, but she saw the subtle change in her body language. She knew immediately what the other Slayer's response would be.

"Faith, you heard the call. It's done… it's over," she said trying to head off any argument.

Parked in Andy's driveway to reload after adding their weapons to the perimeter defense in this section of the town. Buffy watched as Faith reloaded the missile launcher on her Cyclone. They had both ridden out with a group of M1A1 main battle tanks to engage the approaching enemy vehicles. Buffy had been awestruck by the size and design of one of the massive vehicles. It looked as if it had come straight-out of one of her worse nightmares. The "vehicle" looked like a spider with a massive body that was bigger than a two-story house with four huge legs extending and curving from the body. If the design and size wasn't bad enough, there were the weapons mounted in the body and legs. Beams from the energy weapons reached out, cutting and burning through anything they touched. Buffy had seen one tank vaporized after a direct hit from the enemy vehicle's main gun. It had taken all their missiles, along with cannon fire from the few surviving tanks to destroy it. Destroying the enemy vehicle had forced the enemy to retreat which stabilized that part of the defense perimeter.

Buffy turned, seeing people and a few vehicles stream by Andy's house in a ragged procession. Most of the people and vehicles were civilian with a mix of military vehicles carrying wounded sprinkled in. The column was strung out, moving in small groups. Some of those walking were helping others. Some were carrying personal possessions. She showed no emotion, watching the people trying to flee the fighting. She noted the small groups of soldiers, along with a few armored vehicles, heading in the opposite direction, to reinforce the collapsing perimeter on the north-side of the town.

"Faith?" she said as her attention returned to the other woman who had finished reloading her missile launcher.

Buffy shook her head. She moved closer, reaching out to grab Faith's arm to get her attention, "Faith… we have to leave," she said in a quiet, but firm voice.

Buffy was caught a little off-guard as Faith spun on her, "Why?" Faith asked in a hard angry voice.

"Why, what?" Buffy asked in a confused voice.

"Why the hell do we have to leave? Why should we leave!" the other Slayer said angrily as she flipped up the visor on her helmet.

Before Buffy could reply, Faith continued, "Those bastards are the same ones that killed your sister, Xander, Willow, Cassie, James..." she paused for a second, "T-They killed Paul and Andy is still out there…"

Buffy saw the anger and desire for revenge in the other woman. She found it hard to argue as the long simmering embers of hate flared in her. She could feel the desire calling to her, to take out her long repressed hate and pain on those that had killed those that she loved.

"So what do you have in mind?" Buffy asked.

Faith flipped down the visor on her helmet as she remounted her Cyclone, "We go show those bastards, what Slayers can do!" she said.

A brief thought flashed through Buffy's head, _Death is my… our gift! Let's go share our gift!_

"Amen to that," Buffy said starting up her Cyclone. She followed Faith out of the driveway, turning to head north.

 **oOoOo**

Colonel Weir was listening to his command die. The com channels were filled with desperate and scared voices — some that were cut-off in mid-sentence.

 _There's nothing else we… nothing else I can do_ , he thought in emotionally disconnected way. Not that he didn't care. He had to be disconnected to keep functioning as the people that served under him… that he knew… had trusted him… were dying all around him.

The loud roar of automatic weapons fire brought him back to the moment, "EVERYONE! TIME TO LEAVE!"

One of his command staff approached, "Sir, What do we do?" the young officer asked.

"Fall back and try to join up with General Chambers's column. They should be close by now. We'll collapse the perimeter to cover the withdrawal and make sure that the wounded and civilians get clear," Weir replied, focusing on what he needed to do.

The officer jumped to carry out his orders. He hesitated as he noticed the Colonel picking up his personal weapon, checking the magazine, "Sir?"

Weir saw the look on the young man's face, reading what the officer was thinking, "I'll be right behind you and the rest of the command group, Lieutenant. I want to make sure that our remaining units know what the plan is," he said flashing a small tired smile.

The Colonel stood by as his command and support staff evacuated his command post. The sounds of intense fighting was getting closer, and he moved towards the entrance of his CP. He saw the remnants of units falling back towards him. A surge of pride filled him knowing his people were still fighting and hadn't given up. The enemy was relentless, responding with heavy bursts of automatic weapons fire. His pride quickly turned to anger and rage as several of his troopers were cut down by the enemy's fire. He picked up his assault rifle, flicking off the safety.

He scanned the street as he took cover. At first all he could observe was his troops firing, moving from cover to cover as they fell back. Sounds of armored vehicles caught his attention and he turned towards the sounds of two M2 Bradley Fighting Vehicles pulling in at the far end of the street. He ducked out of reflex as both armored vehicles opened up with their 25mm chain guns, sending armored piercing rounds at targets at the other end of the street.

Weir risked a look, raising his head from cover. The path of tracer rounds, from his people, guided his gaze, and he got his first real glimpse of their enemy. Huge armored "creatures" were advancing up the street, they looked as if they had stepped out of someone's nightmare. Their size and design sent a shiver down his spine as they projected nothing but a sense of oppression and death. He watched as several of the larger units raised their arms and fired at his troops, sending a heavy stream of fire at their positions tearing into them.

Rage consumed Weir, as he lifted his weapon to his shoulder, at seeing his people get hit and die. He took careful aim and fired at the closest enemy targets. A part of his mind noted that his shots were hitting, but ricocheting off their armor. He didn't care as he now had a target to vent his rage and frustration on now as he changed the magazine on his weapon and resumed firing.

A roar of approval erupted from his mouth as one of the Bradleys hit an enemy target. The armored piercing rounds cutting through the armored creature, causing it to explode.

"TAKE THAT YOU, SONSOFBITCHES!"

His jubilation was short lived as another of the enemy stepped out from cover, raising what was easily identifiable as a shoulder-mounted missile launcher. A missile streaked down the street, catching one of the Bradleys. The explosion sent shrapnel, flame and debris everywhere in a huge explosion, causing Weir to duck for cover. The other Bradley tried to shift to a different firing position, but before it could back up another missile roared from the enemy. It also went up in huge explosion.

Weir sat in his cover, stunned, watching his vehicles burning. He suddenly became aware that the surrounding firing had diminished. He raised his head to risk another peek. His heart beat even faster as he saw the enemy armored infantry advancing towards _his_ position.

He suddenly became hyper-aware of what was going on around him. It was as if everything was moving in slow motion as the enemy closed in on him. A wave of thoughts flooded his mind as he realized that he only had moments left. His training kicked back in and he raised his weapon again. Before he could pull the trigger, a shadow which seemed to come out of nowhere, flashing among advancing enemy troops. The enemy was no longer concerned with him as they turned to face this new threat, but they were too slow. Even Weir had a hard time keeping up with the smaller armored figure that seemed to dance around and through them. The enemy was opening fire, but they could not hit the shadow. Several aliens caught each other in a crossfire, destroying one another. His eyes widen as two glowing blades extended from the smaller adversary's arms and slashed and stabbed at the aliens. In moments the street was quiet, with only the distant sounds of fighting echoing. Weir stood up from cover as he recognized who the person in the armor was. He looked around at the scene of death and destruction around them. Pieces of arms and legs littered the ground. Some of the enemy had been sliced in half. A greenish liquid leaked from their remains, pooling on the ground.

Weir regained his composure, "T-Thanks," he said in a quiet voice.

Buffy nodded, "It's clear… for now. I'm going to sweep around and see if anyone else needs help."

All the Colonel could do was nod as Buffy took off in a huge leap, assisted by the Cyclone power armor, and disappeared from sight. It took another moment for Weir to gather himself and move away from the battle scene. Thoughts bounced around his head as he picked up his pace, looking for friendly units to hook up with.

 _If Buffy's here? Where's Faith?_

 **oOoOo**

The question of Faith's whereabouts also hung on Andy's mind as he fired another burst from the M2 Browning heavy machine gun he was manning. He watched as his rounds impacted — around the group of armored infantry at extreme range from his position. He noted — with some relief — that the enemy was ignoring his fire as they were concentrating on the fire they were taking from closer defensive positions. Even though he'd been out of the military for years, he could still read what was happening and how bad the situation was.

A Humvee braking to a sudden stop behind his position caught him by surprise. He didn't know what to expect as the front passenger door swung open. His eyes went wide seeing his friend, Mike Dixon at the driver's wheel.

"Andy! Time to bug out!" his friend shouted.

Andy didn't hesitate as he saw other soldiers pull out of their positions. He jumped in the Humvee and Mike hit the accelerator hard before Andy had the door shut, throwing him back into the passenger seat. He noted another passenger in the vehicle — a soldier manning the .50 cal machine gun in the armored turret on top.

"My family? Have you seen them? We have to make sure they're okay!" Andy asked in a frantic voice at the realization that the defense perimeter and town was being overrun by the aliens.

"They're okay! I loaded them on a truck that was heading out of town! Should already be out of here!" Mike replied as he drove frantically trying to avoid people, other vehicles and the occasional explosion.

Andy let out a sigh of relief knowing his parents and sister were escaping. His thoughts and worries shifted, "Faith? Have you seen her?" he asked as a stab of fear hit him.

"Not sure… I heard radio chatter that her and that other woman—"

"Buffy?"

"Yeah, Buffy… There was radio chatter that both of them were raising holy hell among those space invaders! They're buying time for us to withdraw," Mike replied.

"We have to find Faith! She needs to get out of here! If those bastards get their hands on her…" Andy said with a shudder as he hated to think what they would do to her.

"Yeah, I figured you'd want to find your girlfriend. We're headed to where the last reports had her," Mike said with a small grin, not taking his eyes off the road.

"Thanks, Mike. I owe you… big time!" Andy said, exhaling a sigh of relief.

"Andy."

"Yeah?"

"I get to be best man."

"Damn right!" Andy said with a smirk as the Humvee roared down the road.

 **oOoOo**

"COM'ON YOU MOTHAS!"

Bodies of armored aliens littered the ground around her as Faith was in full blood lust mode. As another group of armored aliens charged towards her, a part of her noted that they weren't firing their weapons at her as they charged. This suited her fine as she was more than happy to meet them in hand-to-hand combat.

A huge alien lunged at her, she sidestepped and slashed with the glowing blade on her left arm. Memories of when she first got her Cyclone flashed through her mind. Sergeant Bronowski had told her there was nothing that her CADS blades couldn't cut through. He'd been right as she cut the alien in half with a sweep of her blade. She didn't stop to admire her handiwork as another alien charged at her and she stepped in to meet it.

The alien swung its armored arm, with those fierce-looking claws on its hands, at her. She avoided the strike and parried with her blade, cutting the arm off. Greenish fluid spewed everywhere, covering her. In that moment of distraction, the alien swung with its other arm catching her across her mid-section with its gruesome looking claws.

Faith let out a painful grunt as the claws cut through her armor and sunk into her. The blow sent her staggering, warm blood spreading across her.

 _Damn it! Not the stomach again!_

She recovered enough as the wounded alien charged her again. She fought through the pain and growing weakness, meeting his charge by driving both CADS blades into its chest. The alien pressed forward, pushing its body further down on the blades. Faith put all her remaining strength into digging in and holding her ground. Time froze as Faith dug into her reservoirs of strength to hold off the towering alien that moved inch by inch closer, down the blades it was impaled on.

"Not to you bastard! I'm not going to lose to you!" she muttered in a hate-filled voice.

Then as if a switch had been flipped, the alien lost strength, slumping on her blades. It took all her remaining strength to extract them from the dead alien. Stepping back, she looked around the battlefield. There were no aliens around her, but she saw another wave of infantry and vehicles, off in the distance, moving towards her.

 _I-I g-guess I-I should get out of h-here_ , she thought as she became dizzy with her world spinning and her legs giving out underneath her.

 **oOoOo**

Andy was screaming Faith's name as he jumped out of the Humvee, before it had stopped, running towards where she had fallen. It was hard to keep from panicking with her stomach and chest covered in blood and a green-looking fluid.

"No, no, no… Com'on, Faith! Stay with me!" Andy said anxiously as he struggled to get her out of the Cyclone power armor. If he could get her back to the Humvee, they could escape.

His attention shifted as Mike shouted from the Humvee, "ANDY, WE NEED TO GE—"

Sergeant Dixon never finished his statement as a missile streaked in. The Humvee went up in a huge ball of flames, causing Andy to throw himself over Faith to shield her. Shakily sitting up, all Andy stared numbly at the flaming wreckage that had once been his friend. With his ears still ringing, he turned his focus back to Faith. He finally got the Cyclone armor to release her from its grasp, dragging her free. He winced, hearing her moan in pain.

"Come on, Faith… I need you to stand up! We need to get out of here!" he said in a loving, worried voice. He flipped up her helmet visor, she was barely staying conscious. Glancing back, he noted how close the enemy was to them. He gently laid her back down, cradling her in his arms.

 _It won't be long…_

"A-Andy… I-I'm s-sorry…" Faith muttered out, the pain obvious in her voice.

"Shhh… it's okay… We're together… that's all that matters. I love you!" he said in a quiet voice, leaning closer to her face.

"I-I-I…" she tried to say, but drifted off.

Andy looked up from Faith, the enemy was moving faster to get to them. He looked down at Faith and then up at the hazy sky.

 _Even the sky is against us… There must be thousands of them up there, coming down to get us…_

Faith was fighting to stay conscious. She wanted to tell Andy that she loved him, but it was hard to speak. She found her thoughts drifting.

 _I wonder if I'll see Paul… Will he be there waiting for me?_

A guilty twinge hit her at these thoughts as she should only be thinking of Andy right now.

 _It's so beautiful… The whole sky is lighting up in colors… It looks like the 4_ _th_ _of July…_

Her mind barely comprehended as the area containing the aliens erupted in huge explosions as Invid mecha descended from the sky like avenging angels. In her weakened state she couldn't process what was happening or why Andy was cheering and shouting wildly as the mecha tore into the enemy.

 _What a strange looking robot? Why would it have a Grim Reaper on its arm?_ Was her final thought as she fell unconscious...


	19. Breaking News

**WARNING: Some Coarse Language and Violent Scenes**

 **CHAPTER NINETEEN:  
Breaking News **

" _…The Haydonite Processing facility at Rockville, Maryland is preserved as a memorial site, to honor and remember those victims of the invasion and occupation. The buildings and grounds are maintained in the same condition as they were at the time of the facility's liberation by Alliance forces. Of the more than 60,000 people from Rockville and the surrounding areas that were brought to the facility for 'organic processing'. Less than 5,000 were still alive when Alliance forces stormed the facility. This facility and the others around the world are a testament not only to what the Haydonites had planned and inflicted on the planet's population. They are a reminder of what the Alliance stands for and its strength of purpose and unity._

 _What makes Rockville different from the other sites is the memorial that sits at the center of the facility, in the barracks area. The life-size memorial, inspired by actual events, is a stunning example of Spherisian sculpture work by artisans using crystals from their homeworld. The front of the memorial features a large female Karbarran wearing body armor. She is wearing the rank of Gunnery Sergeant in the Alliance Marine Corps with a bloody paw print on her chest armor. She is striking a defiant stance, baring her teeth, her face snarling in anger and defiance while cradling and aiming her assault rifle with one arm. With her free paw, she is reaching behind to make sure that two small human children, cowering on the ground, are behind her as she places her body between them and the unseen enemy. It is a perfect universal symbol of a mother protecting her children… the strong protecting the weak and innocence._

 _What adds to this powerful and humbling scene is that the Karbarran and human children are not alone to face their unseen enemy. Arrayed behind them are twenty more crystal statues of Marines — a mix of different species — coming up from behind to help their Sergeant and the children. Some are running to join their Sergeant. Some are in firing stances and some have been wounded and are being tended to by other Marines. The detail of work is amazing and breathtaking as the crystal captures the body language, emotions and feelings of the moment. Each statue is unique in their detail of the emotions they project — anger, defiance, fear and pain._

 _In the waning light of sunset, as the sun's rays strike the crystal, the statues take on a more lifelike quality. Visitors sometime swear that the statues are alive and reliving that exact moment over again. This memorial is not only an emotionally grabbing masterpiece, but a place of pilgrimage for all newly commissioned Alliance Marine Corps officers and NCOs to visit…"_

— excerpt from _"A Galaxy at War: The Haydonite-Alliance War"_

 **oOoOo**

Emma Michaels found it hard to focus on her job, waiting to begin her live broadcast from the Arcadia's War Room. This should have been just another regular broadcast covering the liberation of a Haydonite-occupied planet as that was old hat to her by now. This time it was different. She was weighed down with emotions that threatened to keep her from doing her job.

When she left Earth on the Arcadia, she'd been an almost unknown TV reporter. She had been grabbing the career opportunity of a lifetime to see and record things that no human — at least no human from her world — had ever seen. It had been all that and more. After several years of covering and broadcasting reports on the war against the Haydonites, she'd become a familiar and popular face to the races of the Alliance. She'd also been involved with and instrumental in creating a news broadcast service which reached every corner of Alliance space.

What she was experiencing right now differed from any pre-show nerves she may have had in the past. Not only would she be broadcasting to the people of her homeworld, but she was also still trying to deal with the news that Admiral Coleiro was dead. Everyone in the fleet was struggling with the news, but for her it was a more personal and deeper loss.

She'd always known Paul loved Faith, but that never dissuaded or stopped her from falling in love with him. A part of her realized the reason she loved him was because he was this larger-than-life character… the classic hero that fought to save everyone. Her attraction to him predated the Arcadia leaving Earth and in the early days of the expedition, she had gone after him hard. Each time he politely rebuffed her advances.

They kept a formal cordial working relationship, but she found herself still drawn to him like a moth to a flame. Upon reaching Tirol and the war with the Haydonites starting, she found herself engulfed in work and new opportunities. Seeing that pursuing Paul was a lost cause, she decided it was time to move along with her life rather than waste any more time. She threw herself into her work, burying her unrequited feelings in her work.

It wasn't until they worked together on creating and establishing the fledgling Alliance News Service that those feelings pushed to the surface again. The time she'd spent working with Paul made her realize how much more there was to him and her feelings deepened towards him. It hadn't been as if they planned for it to happen. The memories of that one weekend lingered and haunted her as it'd been everything and more she'd fantasied about. She had hoped Paul was over Faith, but it was apparent that the other woman's hold on him was still too strong. The pain from having glimpsed and touched something you always desired then have it taken away had been hard for her.

There was the temptation to become bitter and lash out. Paul somehow made it better and they ended becoming close friends. She looked forward and relished those times when their paths would cross. They would hang out and talk. He would use her as a sounding board to get her opinion on a political issue or problem he had to deal with. She would talk about her work — the good things that occurred and the frustrations she had to deal with. There was still a part of her that hungered for him. She was more than willing to be 'friends with benefits', but the war, work and distance played its part to keep those fires in check.

Now he was gone, and she had to fight to keep her emotions in control as General Coulson was expecting her to do a live broadcast to Earth. She knew the twofold importance of this broadcast. The first part was obvious, to inform the people that the Arcadia had returned and had brought help. The second part was to prepare the ground for Earth to join the Alliance and send a message that there was a new power in town. Paul had told her about The First Evil, demons, vampires and the threat from Vice-President — now President — Kinsey to the human race. She'd found it hard to believe at first, but after seeing the evidence that General Coulson had collected before leaving Earth made her a convert. The news that Willow and Samantha brought about the current situation on Earth only confirmed what she'd been told. Her cameraman interrupted her thoughts.

"Five minutes, Emma," he said in concerned voice.

She took a moment to realize what he was talking about as she fought the emptiness and pain she was feeling, "Huh? Yeah, right," she replied in a voice that sounded lost.

The cameraman eyed her warily, "You going to be able to do this?" he asked.

Emma stared at her cameraman. Her mind raced again with thoughts and feelings of what had happened and what 'could have been'. She took a deep breath to clear her mind to focus on what she needed to do.

 _I need to do this… for Paul_ , she thought sadly.

"Yeah," she said taking another deep breath and seeing the relieved look on her cameraman's face.

"We patched in to the satellite uplinks planet-side?" she asked.

"Yup, I talked to all the networks in New York myself to arrange it. It will go out on all feeds. The ship's communication staff has done everything on their end as well… We're all set to go," replied the cameraman.

"I bet they were surprised to get the call," Emma said with a small half-smile forming on her face.

The cameraman couldn't help himself as he laughed, recalling the responses from the people down on the planet when he contacted them, "That's the understatement of the year."

A worried thought struck Emma, "Are all the other reporting teams ready? They need to—"

"Emma… Relax… They all know what to do. You trained them yourself. They'll do the job," the cameraman said cutting her off before her worry distracted her.

Emma nodded, pushing her worries and feelings down. She needed to focus on her job.

 _I need to do this for Paul… for everyone!_

She took another deep breath as her cameraman give her the signal they were about to begin the broadcast.

"We go live in… Five… Four…" he said, trailing off as he switched to a hand signal countdown.

Emma saw the red light on the camera go on. For a second she froze as her emotions threatened to erupt. Her training and professionalism let her recover to push them down so she could continue. Her mind quickly refocused on what she would say to the planet.

"This is Emma Michaels… I'm reporting live from the cruiser Arcadia in orbit above the planet…"

 **oOoOo**

Andrew was flipping through the channels on the TV. He was desperately trying to find the latest news about what was happening down in Texas and around the planet. The bright flashes in the daytime sky were an ominous sign that had him keeping a wary eye on the skies. The vague reports from the local news broadcasts provided little help other than reporting a major clash between US military units and the aliens somewhere in Texas.

Switching the channel again, he got another news anchor going on, _"…There are unconfirmed reports that besides Texas, other military units across the country are moving to engage alien ground forces. Peterson and Schriever Air Force bases along with other military bases in the area are in lockdown condition. There are reports of a constant stream of transport aircraft flying in and out of Peterson. We have no information regarding the reports of bright flashes in the sky. Daylight conditions make it hard for observatory telescopes to see what is occurring. The Governor is asking all citizens to remain calm and to stay at home. He has stated that the National Guard will be—"_

Andrew got worried as the News Anchor paused. The look on his face changed to one of shock.

 _"Y-You're kidding? Y-You sure about this?"_ the news anchor said talking to someone off camera. The anchorman was not aware or didn't care he was still live on the air. It took a moment for the anchor to digest whatever he was being told before he spoke again.

 _"Uh, l-ladies and gentlemen… I've just been informed that somehow we have our satellite uplink back. We are being informed of a breaking news development. S-So I guess we're switching live to New York…"_

Andrew's eyes narrowed and a cold clammy feeling was crawling up his back. He didn't know what to expect as the TV signal distorted for a moment and then came back into focus. His eyes went wide as the woman's face came through on the screen.

 _"This is Emma Michaels… I'm reporting live from the cruiser Arcadia in orbit above the planet…"_

He took a long moment, as the woman continued to speak, for him to realize that he was awake and this wasn't a dream. He found his voice as his heart raced.

"G-GILES! GET IN HERE QUICK!"

 **oOoOo**

Giles stood at the kitchen sink, sipping his drink as he looked out the window. His mind was a million miles away as he stared at trees swaying in the late afternoon breeze. He finally noticed that his glass was empty, breaking his stare to reach for the bottle of scotch next to the sink. He briefly played with just skipping the glass and drinking straight from the bottle, but he knew he wasn't to that point yet.

 _Maybe later_ , he thought, pouring himself another drink, and then taking a long gulp.

The warmth of the alcohol hit him and he took some momentary comfort from it. That comfort faded quickly as he knew all the scotch in existence couldn't get rid of the ache and worry that filled him. His usual calm British demeanor was in place as the first reports of fighting in Texas came in. The facade fell apart and his worry increased with the lack of news or contact from Buffy, Riley and Faith. The longer they were with no real news, the more those hated feelings of frustration and helplessness grew. He wished he'd gone with them rather than sitting here and waiting. Memories of Buffy drifted through his thoughts. He regretted he hadn't told her more often of how proud he was of her and how important she was to him. His reminiscences were interrupted by Andrew yelling from the living room.

Giles let out a sigh, deciding to ignore him. He took another drink from his glass, resuming his staring vigil.

"GILES! YOU HAVE TO COME SEE THIS!"

"No, I bloody don't…" Giles muttered taking another sip to finish his drink. As he poured himself another drink, he tried to remember if he had another bottle around the house.

 _I think there's one in—_

"RUPERT! GET YOUR LIMEY ASS IN HERE NOW!"

Giles blinked in surprise at Andrew's tone and words he was using to get his attention. Letting out a sigh, he moved from the kitchen back to the living room. It wasn't the sight he expected. Upon entering the living room, Andrew was immediately in his face. The young man was babbling on so fast that Giles _—_ in his slightly alcohol-induced state _—_ couldn't make out a word of what he was saying. Before he could say anything, Andrew was dragging him towards the TV. A woman was talking on the screen, but Giles thought nothing about at first… then it clicked.

The first thing he noticed was the strange outfit she was wearing and then he saw the background behind her and it looked familiar. He couldn't make out a word of what the woman was saying as Andrew had lost his mind and was dancing around the room cheering wildly. Besides giving him a headache, he needed to hear what the woman was saying.

"Andrew, please!"

Andrew ignored him as he continued jumping around the room. Giles strained to listen to what the woman was saying.

 _"…General Coulson just informed me that the first wave of assault ships carrying the 1_ _st_ _Brigade of the Alliance's 6_ _th_ _Marine Division has landed! Lead elements have landed at Andrews Air Force base outside of Washington. The second wave of assault dropships has begun their re-entry to take their landing zone in Europe…"_

Giles's eyes went wide in shock at the mention of General Coulson's name. His mind raced trying to grasp what he was seeing on the TV.

 _T-That m-means… T-They've come back?_

"I-It's t-them… It's really them!" he said in a quiet shocked voice.

Andrew didn't hold back his feelings as he came up, wrapping his arms tightly around the Watcher. The younger man was swinging Giles around in his grasp as he screamed and whooped.

"IT'S THE ARCADIA! THEY CAME BACK!"

Giles was numb with shock, ignoring Andrew as he broke the younger man's grasp. He moved back to the TV, turning up the volume.

 _"…General Coulson as commander of the Alliance's 7_ _th_ _Fleet and General McLean as commander of the 6_ _th_ _Marine Division have asked all local military forces to provide aid and assistance in the liberation of Earth from the Haydonites. I've also been informed that I can now notify all our viewers that two more Marine divisions along with fleet and ground support units are on route from Tirol to reinforce the retaking of Earth…"_

Giles was happy yet confused. He didn't know what this 'Alliance' was. From what he remembered, there was no way that the Arcadia's expedition had the ships and manpower to wage this size of attack. As if almost on cue, the woman continued.

 _"I know some of you are wondering what the Alliance is. It is a grouping of different species that the Arcadia has helped to free from Haydonite control. We have joined together and have been waging a long war against them,"_ the woman paused as if trying to compose herself before continuing.

 _"I've just received word that one of our crews attached to the 1_ _st_ _Brigade is reporting in. We'll be switching over live to our reporter at Andrews Air Force base… Selu, can you hear me?"_

Giles and Andrew were both caught up in the news report as the screen turned black for a moment. When it came back, there was a human-looking man wearing body armor. Behind him there was a hive of activity of people and equipment. The sky was filled with spacecraft landing.

 _"Yes, Emma I can hear you. I want to confirm that the 1_ _st_ _Marine Brigade has landed. With the help of local military forces, they are working to secure the landing zone… Can we get a picture of that?"_

The camera turned and panned, viewers saw the activity that was taking place on the tarmac. Strange looking vehicles were unloading from large spaceships. Giles was stunned seeing 'aliens' disembarking and forming up into units. The whole scene looked as if it was an alien invasion from a science-fiction movie. There were huge bear-like creatures, mixed with fox-like ones. At least there was a large mix of people that looked human. He noted that some of the women looked bigger and stronger and some of the humans — like the male reporter — looked "different". All the creatures were heavily armed and wearing body armor. He noted the US military personnel eagerly helping with operations as the camera swung back to the reporter.

 _"Emma, I've been told that lead elements, composed of armored infantry, Hovertanks and Destroids are moving forward to engage Haydonite forces... I received a quick briefing from General McLean when we landed. He informed me there is a major Haydonite installation on the outskirts of Washington. His plan is to neutralize that base and I quote 'remove those Haydonite bastards from existence' end quote…"_

 _"Selu, have you encountered any resistance from Haydonite forces?"_

 _"Not when we landed, Emma. There were tense moments as the local military didn't know what to make of us. As you can see, everyone is now working to make sure all dropships and transports are unloaded and a defensive perimeter is established. From previous experience, we know we should expect—"_

Screaming sirens cut-off the reporter as soldiers ran past him. The microphone caught voices shouting.

 _"INCOMING! INCOMING FIGHTERS!"_

Giles watched the unfolding scene and a bad feeling grew inside him as the picture became shaky as the cameraman swung up higher in another direction. In the far distance, coming over the horizon was a large swarm of dark objects. The sky lit up as beams of light reached out to the incoming objects. Explosions dotted the sky. The camera swung to where the beams had come from. Giles and Andrew were in awe as the camera showed several huge bipedal robots firing multi-barrel weapons that were their arms at the incoming fighters.

 _"Raider air defense Destroids are engaging the fighters. Wait, a second… Yes! Here they come! Quick get a shot of this! This is beautiful!"_

The camera swung to another part of the sky filled with another swarm… a much larger swarm of approaching aircraft. The camera zoomed in on the approaching craft and both Giles and Andrew gasped at the mix of Veritechs and huge nightmarish crab-like craft. This new group moved to intercept the incoming attacking fighters. The sky filled with explosions as the Alphas launched missiles and the Invid opened fire with plasma cannons.

 _"We have fighters from the Grim Reapers and Skull squadrons along with Invid Shock Troopers engaging the enemy… They're tearing them to pieces!"_

Viewers witnessed fighters and Shock Troopers ripping into the remaining enemy fighters. Veritechs switched to Guardian and Battloid modes unleashing a merciless barrage of energy weapons. Invid ships closed and used their armored claws to rip through enemy ships, sending them in death spirals to the ground or exploding in mid-air. The announcer's microphone caught shouts and cheers from nearby soldiers adding to the air of incredibility that hung over everything they were watching. Giles found himself speechless as the enemy force was annihilated. The camera then swung to show a large formation of huge, heavily armed robots moving in a convoy of armored vehicles moving away from the camera.

 _"As you can see Emma, more Destroids, Hovertanks and APCs are heading out to engage enemy forces. I would like to tell all our viewers they should remain inside and avoid traveling. General McLean is working to co-ordinate with local officials to keep everyone informed on this rapidly changing situation. Alliance forces will do everything in their power to avoid fighting in civilian areas, but the Haydonites have no fear or hesitation about killing civilians. If there is fighting in your area, seek shelter. Let the marines clear out the area and you can come out when they give the all-clear. Emma, I'm going to be heading out with the next column. I will give you updates as we go…"_

 _"Thank you, Selu for that on the scene report! Watch yourself out there!"_

 _"I will Emma, thanks!"_

The screen switched back to the woman, _"As you can see the Alliance comprises many species. We have all come together not only to fight the Haydonites, but we are working to forge something better for all of us!"_

Giles had so many unanswered questions as Emma continued speaking — describing what the Alliance was and the different species that were members. It was information overload for him as he tried to comprehend the magnitude of what he and Andrew, along with the rest of the world, were witnessing.

"My God! Is that?" Andrew said in a voice filled with disbelief.

The camera had panned around the room as Emma continued talking. It had paused at the main command table. Giles blinked in disbelief seeing the woman with red hair standing next to a creature he recognized as an Invid.

"W-Willow…" he muttered slowly. He kept staring at the screen as Andrew went wild again, bouncing around the room.

"Willow's alive! She did it! Somehow she found them!" Andrew shouted. Giles just stood there in shock trying to figure out what could happen next. For a moment, a feeling flared inside him he hadn't had in a long time. He tried to push it down as he didn't want to get his hopes dashed. At that moment, the camera showed a young woman entering from off screen. The brunette cut a sharp figure in her tight-fitting uniform. When the young woman stopped to talk with Willow, he had to blink as he hadn't recognized Dawn at first.

Giles found it hard to stand as his legs went weak. He also found it hard to see the TV screen as his eyes suddenly got blurry. He stumbled to sit in a chair as he couldn't trust his body right now. Andrew had run out the front door, screaming and cheering like a madman. All Giles could do was stare at the TV as Emma continued talking. The sounds of people shouting and cheering along with cars honking came through the open front door. As he sat there staring at the TV, he noticed another sound from outside, drifting through the open door. He took a moment to realize that he was hearing church bells ringing.

 _Please God, if this is a dream… please don't wake me up_ , he prayed silently. His attention locked back on the TV. Emma Michaels was still speaking as the picture changed to show an armada of ships in orbit around Earth… with countless ships entering the atmosphere.

 _"We've been gone for a long time, but not for one moment did we ever forget or abandon you. People of Earth, your sons and daughters have returned… and we have brought help."_

 **oOoOo**

In the White House Situation Room, President Kinsey was transfixed like everyone else in the room as they watched the scene unfold on television. There were smiles and cheers from those around him, but his face did not mirror the celebratory mood in the room. His gut was an icy knot, and it took all his self-control to keep himself from screaming and hurtling something at the screen.

He recalled the first reports that another unidentified fleet was engaging the Haydonite fleet. He'd been filled with mixed emotions as he — and everyone else — was mystified and worried about this new force. The size and the power of the forces involved had been staggering as reports came in. For Kinsey, everything in his universe changed when a report came in from one of the Ground-based Electro-Optical Deep Space Surveillance sites. They reported that a number of ships in the 'unknown fleet' matched known REF ship profiles.

For Kinsey, this confirmed his worse fears that the Haydonites had been hiding something, but this was beyond what he'd been expecting. Inwardly, he was cheering for the Haydonites to defeat the attacking force. He outwardly expressed concern and listened to his advisors and cabinet go over options of what they could and should do to assist. Kinsey, expressing outward calm and concern, directed that US military forces were to remain standing down. He declared they didn't want to antagonize the Haydonites and have reprisals inflicted especially with it looking like they were getting the upper hand over this attacking force.

To calm the skeptics, Kinsey justified his position by saying, "We're already dealing with a mutiny in Texas. From the reports we're getting, they're getting crushed. We don't even know who these new 'people' are and if they are any better or worse than what we're already facing!"

The President's reasons seemed to calm any misgivings… at least until the reports of thousands of new ships appearing around Earth came in. Any semblance of calm and control that Kinsey may have had disappeared as these new ships released unbelievable numbers — estimates were over a million — of smaller craft. This force destroyed the Haydonite fleet. The fear of the unknown grabbed at everyone as this new force moved on the planet. Kinsey tried to weigh his available options and figure out what kind of deal he could cut that would leave him in the best possible position.

Thoughts about any 'best position' evaporated with the live broadcast from the Arcadia. There was disbelief, at first, but that quickly changed as it sank in that help arrived and who it was. It had taken all of Kinsey's self-control not to scream in frustration at the mention of General Coulson's name.

In the light of this new information, his advisors and cabinet were pushing for him again to order US forces to assist. Kinsey hesitated once again. This time it was not about securing his position, but very much about self-preservation. The rumblings of discontent became more pronounced in the room as he stated that the US would not get involved in this fighting. The President hadn't survived this long by rushing headlong into a situation. He wanted to wait and see how Coulson would play his hand before making his move. His goal was the same as always… come out on top.

 _I'm still President of the United States of America… no matter what Coulson or the others think_ , he thought trying to calm his growing inner doubts. Thoughts about his position and survival were interrupted as one of the communication techs entered the Situation Room.

"Sir, we're getting video communications from the Arcadia! General Coulson is asking to speak to you… personally!"

Dread filled Kinsey as thoughts raced through his mind.

 _How did he know to ask for me? How does he know I'm President? What's going on here and what's his play?_

Kinsey had few options at the moment as his mind raced. He knew _not_ taking the call wasn't an option. As he hesitated on responding to the General, he noted the questioning looks from some of the people in the room at his delay. He needed to regain control over his people here and the situation.

"Everyone… I want the room cleared! I need to speak to the General in private!"

There were looks of disbelief on the people's faces at his orders. Kinsey knew this was a risky strategy, but he needed to project an aura of control if he was going to find out what Coulson's intentions were. By keeping the communications private, he wouldn't be stirring anymore problems among his people. A small smile flashed on the President's face at the growing idea of how he could play this situation if Coulson wasn't willing to accept him as President. He could claim the General and this 'Alliance' was no better than the Haydonites and were seeking to take over the planet. This might create a situation for him to negotiate a deal for himself to remain in power or make a 'peaceful transition' into retirement. Even if he was to leave office, he could still be in a position to make a future play for power or at least influence the situation.

Seeing the delay, he spoke again. This time more harshly, "OUT! Everyone, out now!"

As people exited the Situation Room, Kinsey took a deep breath to calm his nerves to prepare for the General's call. After a moment, he pressed the intercom button on the conference table phone, "You can connect me to General Coulson now."

Kinsey took several more deep breaths as the main display screen in the room came alive with the image of General Coulson.

"General Coulson, your return is an unexpected and happy surprise! We… the whole planet had thought you and everyone with your expedition was dead. Is Captain Coleiro with you?" Kinsey said with a fake smile plastered on his face.

There was a moment of dead silence. Kinsey's smile faded and his worry grew noticing the hard angry look on the General's face.

 _"Admiral Coleiro is dead… he gave his life to save the planet!"_ Coulson spat out in an angry voice.

Kinsey fought the instinct to cheer at this news as thoughts raced through his head trying to process this information, _Admiral Coleiro! Dead?_

"D-Dead? I'm sorry—"

Coulson cut him off, _"Enough of the charades! You couldn't give a shit about him!"_ he said angrily.

Kinsey took another deep breath to calm himself before replying, "General, I can understand you may be upset. I would remind that you are still a serving officer in the US Army and the oath you have taken—"

Coulson cut him off again, _"Screw you! My oath is to the constitution, not you!"_

Kinsey felt the situation sliding away from him, "General, despite your personal feelings. I am the President of the United States! You will afford me the proper respect that is due to my office when addressing me!"

 _"All I see is a murderer and a traitor!"_ Coulson sneered.

Panic alarm bells were going off in Kinsey's head, "W-What are y-you talking about?"

Kinsey couldn't help noticing the small self-satisfying smile that suddenly appeared on the General's face. It left a cold feeling in Kinsey as Coulson spoke.

 _"What I'm talking about is that I have enough evidence to nail your ass to the wall! Conspiracy and collusion with entities and powers against the United States!"_

Kinsey felt his world falling apart around him, "Y-You're b-bluffing?" he stammered out in shock at Coulson showing his hand.

The smile on Coulson's face grew larger, _"Before this call, I contacted my sources around the world. They've been watching and gathering evidence against you and your cronies for years! I've got evidence showing your complicity and involvement with the murders of President Hayes, Secretary of Defense Campbell and the rest of the cabinet! And that's just for starters!"_

Kinsey fought to keep from vomiting. He couldn't believe Coulson had gathered any evidence, but he belatedly realized that the General wasn't your normal adversary.

 _"The only question is, will they give you the needle, electrocute you, hang you or shoot you after you're found guilty!"_ Coulson added in a hard angry voice.

Kinsey sat there in stunned shock, looking down at his shaking hands, unable to think or respond. He looked up at the General's face on the screen. A surge of hate rippled through him as he met the General's stare. He hated Coulson with a burning intensity at his threat to strip away everything he'd worked and sacrificed so much for.

"Y-You think you've won! You've won nothing! You're nothing, but helpless scum in my master's eyes! I still have access to the nuclear codes! I-I can turn the planet into a radioactive wasteland!" Kinsey said in a desperate ploy to extract an escape for himself. He was stunned that Coulson was still smiling at him after his clumsy nuclear blackmail attempt.

 _"We thought you might try something like that… I've already been in contact with our nuclear forces and asked that they stand down. They were agreeable once I showed them the evidence,"_ Coulson said with sneer, knowing he was outplaying Kinsey.

"B-Bastard!"

 _"Don't even think of running. I have forces en route to you as we speak! You will surrender to them! You will be taken into custody and held until your trial. I would suggest you not run or resist… My people are just looking for you to give them an excuse,"_ Coulson said with a smile.

Kinsey swore at the screen as the General ended the call. The President was left sitting alone, staring at his trembling hands. His world crumbling around him.

 **oOoOo**

Alone in the Oval Office, Kinsey stared at the symbols of his power that were now just taunting reminders of his impending fall. The roar of aircraft going overhead added to the sense of impending doom hanging over him.

The walk back from the Situation Room felt as if it had taken years. Each footstep taking a supreme effort. He found the White House's halls empty. It seemed as if everyone was avoiding him. Even his Secret Service protection detail was gone. He'd hoped they would've maintained their allegiance to him and stayed, but they had fled like all the rest of those that had served him. Word was out he was finished and his people were scrambling to get away or trying to cut a deal with Coulson's side.

 _Those traitorous rats… both human and non-human have deserted me! I hope they all burn for it!_

Dark hateful thoughts filled his mind as he tried to not look at the clock. A cold pain stabbed his heart, knowing his time in power was coming to an end. He would have sold his soul — if he hadn't already — or do anything to keep everything he had suffered and worked for. He'd cried out for The First Evil for help to stop Coulson or at the least help him get away, but all he got was silence.

Another sound caught his attention. This was much louder and closer. He stood up slowly from his desk and looked out his window. If he hadn't been so drained, he would have been shocked to see the large group of armored troops that were riding motorcycles switch into battloid mode. They easily jumped over the fences onto the South Lawn to move on the White House.

He watched with a detached sense of fascination as the soldiers spread out with weapons drawn and advanced on the White House. He saw a few of his security personnel approach the soldiers, but they either stood down or joined with the advancing soldiers.

 _Not much time left…_

For a moment, Kinsey debated whether he should hide, but Coulson's threat came back to remind him he had nowhere to go. A melancholy thought whispered to him as the soldiers got closer.

 _Don't give them the satisfaction…_

He went through his desk drawers, looking for anything he could use. He wanted to deny Coulson and the others any pleasure or satisfaction they would get from a public trial.

"Not even a proper knife to do the job," he muttered in frustrated despair, holding the letter opener in his hands.

He knew he wouldn't get the soldiers to shoot him by just waving the letter opener. There was a hesitation on his part as he stared at the pointy letter opener, knowing what he had to do.

 _This is not how it was supposed to end… I didn't deserve this! At least that bastard Coleiro is dead! Maybe his bitch joined him!_ Kinsey thought with last one self-serving smirk.

There was no more time for him as a loud crash, outside his office, alerted him. Taking a deep breath, he plunged the letter opener hard and deep into his neck, hoping he got the carotid artery.

 **oOoOo**

Samantha knelt beside the now still body of President Kinsey. She had led the charge into the White House and been the one to kick in the Oval Office door. For the longest time, she had played out this scene in her head about what she was going to say and do. She found herself eager to say the words, _"Kinsey, you're under arrest for sedition and murder…"_

What she hadn't expected was to find Kinsey thrashing and gurgling on the floor in an expanding pool of blood, a letter opener embedded deep in his neck. There had been an instinctual thought to rush to save him. As she rushed forward, he reached out to her with blood soaked hands while still thrashing and gurgling. She saw the look in his eyes, begging her for help. Rather than help, she stopped and stared at him. Thoughts of all those that had suffered and died because of him flashed through her head.

"No… you don't deserve it! That would be too merciful!" she whispered to the dying man. She knelt down to get closer to him. She lifted the visor on her helmet, so he could see her face.

"Can you feel it? Can you feel your life draining away?" Samantha whispered softly to Kinsey. She witnessed the pleading in his eyes as he bled out. His hands reaching, trying to grab her in a desperate attempt to get her to end his suffering.

"I hope every last second feels like an eternity! Where you're going, you're going to burn!" she said quietly in a hate-filled voice. The hate sounded strange in contrast with the quiet tone she was using. She kept her vigil beside the slowly dying man. She was aware that other soldiers from the unit that had accompanied her were gathering just inside the doorway, watching the scene play out. None of them said anything or moved to help or intervene. They all turned and quietly left the Oval Office, leaving Samantha as the lone witness to this event.

Slowly standing up, she was still looking down at Kinsey's still body. She knew that General Coulson would be somewhat disappointed in Kinsey pulling this last move, but his death had been a foregone conclusion. She started to leave the office, but stopped and turned back. A wave of anger grew in her and she found herself drawing her Gallant sidearm.

"BURN IN HELL! YOU SONOFABITCH!" she screamed, pulling the weapon's trigger. The plasma blast blew a hole through the chest of the corpse, adding to the gory scene. Looking at her handiwork, a fleeting sense of satisfaction flowed through her.

Momentarily sated, she didn't want to give the dead body any more of her time or consideration. As she left the Oval Office, her thoughts shifted to what she was going to report to General Coulson and what they needed to do next.


	20. Reunions

**CHAPTER TWENTY:  
Reunions **

" _…It wasn't like I planned for what happened with Emma. I was tired of the war and I was missing Faith. For one brief weekend, I could escape myself, my responsibilities… my destiny. I've fought this war for so long to protect Faith and Earth. I'm tired of it and just want to escape, but I can feel that there is no escape for me. When the Regess showed me the vision of what would happen if I returned home {to warn Earth}, I didn't want to believe her. There is still a part of me that still refuses to accept it, even though I know she and The Shapings are right. If I had gone home, I would have stayed with Faith. I wouldn't have wanted to come back here and it would have ended in death and disaster for everyone. If I don't wage this war against the Haydonites, here and now… If I don't defeat the Haydonites, then what I was shown_ will _come to pass. I won't let that happen at any cost…"_

— Excerpt from the collected journals of Fleet Admiral Paul Coleiro

 **oOoOo**

"Thanks," Buffy said tiredly, taking the bottle of water Riley handed her.

Though she was mercifully out of her body armor, she wished she had clothes to change out of her dirty and sweat-soaked REF uniform. Taking a long gulp from the water bottle, she'd already undone the front zipper on her bodysuit to cool off. She was too tired to care it left her a little more exposed than she would have normally done. It didn't matter as Riley was too tired to notice how she looked as he slowly sat down beside her. Both of them were leaning against a shed that had survived the fighting intact, using its shade to stay cool in the late afternoon heat. Buffy kept her curiosity and impatience in check long enough for Riley to take a drink before questioning him.

"You hear anything? Is it true? Is it them?" she asked in rapid fire succession. Despite being exhausted from the fighting, she found herself trapped on an emotional rollercoaster.

"Communications are still fragmented to the outside world. General Chambers has got his people trying to establish coms with anyone outside the area. They told me to check back in an hour," he replied with a frustrated sigh.

"An hour!" Buffy exclaimed not holding back her frustration anymore, "Those are Invid that are walking around here! It has to be them!"

"Buffy, I understand what you're feeling. Maybe if your Cyclone was still working, we could've used its com system," Riley said tiredly, taking another drink and then leaning his head back against the shed.

Buffy wanted to scream in frustration. She resisted the urge to bang her head on or put her fist through the shed wall to vent her frustration. Her Cyclone had served her well in the fighting. She'd literally left a trail of dead Haydonites in her wake, but there had been just too many of them. Her Cyclone was now just a pile of scrap metal. Unlike Faith, she escaped with only heavy bruising and a sore and achy body. Her Cyclone and body armor absorbed the explosive brunt of a near miss from a Haydonite missile.

She'd thought it was the end until the Invid descended, like the wrath of God, firing and tearing into the enemy. It had taken her a few moments to recognize who this new force was. When she did, the implications became obvious, hitting her hard as they sank in. She'd overheard people talking about reports of another fleet, fighting in space around the planet and that a new force was now landing on the planet. The presence of the Invid combined with the rumors had her struggling to keep her hopes and emotions in check while trying to get more information about what was happening. She was fighting to keep the cynicism and the protective shell she'd built over the last few years in place. She wanted to know what was happening, but there was a faint voice, echoing in her head, telling her to prepare for the worse.

Riley eyed Buffy and could see how she was struggling with what was happening. He tried to change the subject.

"I checked in on Faith," he said in a quiet voice.

Buffy took a deep breath to relax, "How is she?"

"Unconscious, but stable. They were getting ready to medevac her along with some of the other wounded to one of the nearby towns that have a hospital," Riley replied. Buffy let out a tired sigh of relief at this news.

"Was Andy with her?"

Riley laughed, "Stuck to her like glue… I talked to Colonel Weir. He'll make sure she's taken care of."

Buffy nodded, "Good… I'm glad the Colonel made it."

"He's banged up, just like the rest of us, but yeah he made it… He wanted me to give you a message."

"He did?" she asked, caught off-guarded by this.

"Yeah, he told me to tell you, 'Thank you and that the drinks are on him'," Riley said with a snort and smile.

Buffy was quiet for a moment as she found she didn't have a reply. This was strange for her as she usually had a quip or one-liner ready to respond with. She wasn't a drinker, but she thought about taking the Colonel up on his offer. A loud roar in the sky interrupted her thoughts, catching both of their attention.

Buffy watched as a small group of aircraft pass by, she took a moment to recognize the aircraft. She hadn't seen planes like that in years. The long swan neck of the Horizont dropship brought back memories of that night in Sunnydale when there had been another desperate battle and things had also looked bleak. The dropship had two huge cargo pods slung underneath it and was being escorted by several fighter jets she also recognized as belonging to the REF.

"It looks like they're landing," Riley said tiredly as the craft slowed down and descended. He was not prepared for Buffy, zipping up her uniform to a more modest level, to stand up and head in the direction where the aircraft were landing. Riley shook his head, letting out a tired sigh of resignation, as he stood up and followed her.

"Are you sure you don't want to stay in the shade and close your eyes for a while?" Riley asked tiredly. He had to dig deep into his reserves to pick up his pace as Buffy started into a jog towards the landing area.

Buffy ignored Riley as she picked up her pace. Her eyes locked on the descending craft.

 _They'll be able to tell me_ , she thought as per pace got quicker.

It didn't take her long to reach the edge of the landing area. She barely noticed Riley, struggling to catch up. She saw the dropship sitting in the open field with the Alphas in Battloid mode providing perimeter security with Invid mecha. The two cargo pods attached to the dropship were open and people and equipment were disembarking from them. As she moved closer, she got a better view of the 'people' getting off the dropship. Her eyes went wide in surprise at seeing the different creatures working to unload equipment and supplies.

There was a moment of alarm when she caught sight of several creatures that looked like demons. She tensed up at seeing the strange creatures, but her Slayer instincts relaxed when she saw them working with the other creatures coming off the dropship. Two of them were directing the cargo pod unloading operations.

 _No screaming and no blood… That's a good sign! Besides, I'm too tired for another fight right now!_

"Man… This is so not what I was expecting!" Riley said from behind Buffy, catching her by surprise.

She turned away from the landing area to see Riley breathing hard as he caught up to her.

"There was a time when you would at least try to pretend to keep up with me!" she said with a small laugh.

"Smart ass!" Riley spit out between labored breaths. He was about to say something else when someone coming off the dropship caught his attention.

"My God!" he said in a shocked voice.

Buffy saw the change in Riley's face and spun to where he was looking. She instantly recognized the red-haired woman getting off the dropship.

"W-Williow?" she whispered in a matching shocked voice. There was a moment of doubt and disbelieve as she saw her friend wave and make her way towards her. It finally sank in she was seeing her friend and this wasn't a dream or a delusion.

"WILLOW!" Buffy screamed out as she found a burst of energy and sprinted towards her, leaving Riley struggling to catch up.

Buffy grabbed her friend up in a huge hug, holding her tight. They were right in the middle of the unloading operations surrounded by strange-looking aliens, but she didn't care. She finally broke out of the embrace.

"W-Will, h-how?" was all that Buffy could ask.

"We got lucky!" Willow replied, with a small grin.

A thousand questions raced through Buffy's mind. She struggled to figure out which one to ask first, but another voice caught her attention.

"Buffy?"

Buffy froze as her heart beat a mile-a-minute. She found herself afraid to turn around and face the person saying her name.

 _If this is a dream, please don't wake me up…_

Finding the courage to turn around, Buffy saw the young woman, looking lean and fit in her uniform, coming toward her. She hadn't seen her sister in years, but there was no mistaking who she was.

"D-Dawn?" Buffy said in a hoarse whisper. She suddenly found it hard to focus on her sister as her eyes became blurry. In a flash, she closed the distance between them and was hugging her sister tightly, sobbing as the protective walls she'd built up over the years crumbled. Dawn was whispering to her, but Buffy couldn't make out a word she was saying. Her body heaved from sobs as she felt her sister hug her tighter and whisper softly in her ear. She felt as if a mountain of pain and loss was lifting off her as she kept crying.

Riley suddenly found that he had something in his eyes as he watched the reunion between the two sisters. He jumped a little when Willow touched his arm.

"I just wanted to let you know Samantha is okay," Willow gave Riley a moment to compose himself as joy and relief spread across his face.

"W-Where is she?" Riley stammered out.

"She's in Washington. She was in the invasion force that retook DC," Willow paused for a moment, "Kinsey is dead," she added in a flat voice.

"T-The P-President is dead?" Riley said in a shocked voice.

"Yeah, no one's wasting any tears over it. General Coulson is working with his contacts to establish who he can trust to get the government back up and running. I guess you'll want to be talking to him?" Willow said with a smirk.

"Yeah, I need to talk to him. What else can you tell me?" Riley asked, the excitement obvious in his voice.

Willow let out a small laugh. She gave Riley a quick rundown of what had happened to her and Samantha, Tirol, the Alliance and the attack to liberate Earth from the Haydonites. He was speechless as he heard the story. It was so overwhelming he had to ask her to stop at points, so he could absorb it all.

"How did you know we were here?" Riley asked as he processed all this new information. He was caught off-guard to see Willow's face take on a sad, serious look.

"The Invid told us you were here," she said in a quiet voice, leaving Riley with more questions.

While Riley was being brought update on world events. Buffy got her emotions under enough control to talk to Dawn, "W-We… I-I thought you and the others were all dead!" she said in a quiet voice.

"It's been a long war for us," Dawn said. She saw more tears in her sister's eyes when she told her that Xander, Cassie and Aaron were alive. The look became sombre when she told Buffy about what had happened to Anya.

"J-James? W-What about him?" Buffy asked almost afraid to hear the answer.

Dawn laughed as a smile came to her face, "He's fine… He's in orbit. I talked to him before coming down to the surface. He told me to tell you he'll be down as soon as he can. If you want I can arrange for you to talk to him?"

Buffy couldn't help herself as she laughed as fresh tears came to her eyes. She couldn't trust herself to speak, so just nodded which caused Dawn to laugh.

Dawn's face changed, becoming more serious looking, which caught Buffy by surprise as it looked so out of character from the Dawn she knew. The realization hit her that her sister had changed over the years and wasn't the same person compared to the one when she left. She found herself appraising her sister with new eyes.

 _She's been gone five years, traveled the galaxy and been fighting a war... I guess we'll have to get to know each other all over again…_

"What's wrong?" Buffy asked.

"Do you know where Faith is?" Dawn asked, her voice tightening up causing Buffy to get even more concerned.

"Yeah, she's here. She got wounded in the fighting," Buffy said, unsure about the change in her sister. The look of concern on her sister's face had her quickly add, "She's going to be okay."

There was a long moment of silence between the two sisters, "What's wrong? Why do you need to find Faith?" Buffy asked, knowing something was wrong.

"Man, this is the part I hate the most," Dawn muttered in a quiet voice, taking a moment to gather her thoughts. Again seeing how out of character this was from the Dawn she remembered, a cold feeling crept down Buffy's back, causing her to shudder.

"I-I… I need to tell Faith something," Dawn said in a quiet voice.

 **oOoOo**

As the nurse came in the room, Andy stirred, sitting up. From his chair, he looked towards the bed that Faith was laying in. He rubbed the sleep from his eyes, then stretched to work the kinks out of his body, caused by the hours of sitting and waiting by her bedside. He glanced worriedly as the nurse checked Faith's vital signs, letting out a small sigh of relief as the nurse gave him a smile and nod. His sore back forced him to stand up, and he moved to her bedside. A small smile crossed his face as he gazed down at her, giving her hand a light squeeze as he gently brushed some of her hair out of her face. She was still unconscious, but the doctors were confident she would have a full recovery from her wounds.

Since the end of the battle, everything had been a blur to Andy. Adamsville had no medical centers or hospitals to assist with the numbers of wounded and dying that were quickly overwhelming the available on-site resources. For many of the wounded, they were stabilized and then medevaced to hospitals in nearby surrounding towns and cities. Faith had been one of those. After being treated at the hastily erected combat support hospital, she'd been flown via helicopter to the community hospital in nearby Lampasas. Andy refused to leave her side, cramming himself on the crowded medevac chopper. His focus was only on her, he barely noticed the chaos of wounded and medical personnel around them as they offloaded from the helicopter and went inside the hospital. He'd been surprised when they rolled her gurney into a private room after treating her in the ER. One nurse told him it had been arranged by General Chambers and Colonel Weir.

He briefly wondered what time of day it was as the drawn curtains kept the room isolated from the outside. The curtains stopped any light from coming in, but the constant rumbling of vehicles and helicopters, coming and going, were a reminder of how busy the hospital still was. The sounds were also a reminder of the cost paid fighting the aliens. Andy was still having a hard time believing the aliens were defeated, and it was over. He relived those moments, of the aliens advancing on Faith and him, over and over. He'd believed it had been the end for them until those waves of spacecraft descended from the sky and fought the Haydonites.

Between Adamsville and the hospital, he'd caught pieces of conversations of people talking about what had happened, with words like 'Alliance', 'Coulson' and 'Arcadia' in those snatches of conversation. There was an air of unreality hanging over everyone as they tried to deal with what was happening. Andy didn't care about the outside world or what was happening as his focus was only on Faith. He found that the strange looking craft, looking like something plucked from a Lovecraftian horror story, were called Invid Shock Troopers. He heard some of the doctors and nurses talk nervously about the strange craft as these aliens seemed to be all around and in Lampasas. They had done nothing threatening as they weren't interfering with anyone and were, for now, not getting in the way. Some people joked nervously that it looked like as if these new aliens were _guarding_ the town. For Andy, he didn't care what these new aliens were doing, what they called themselves or where they came from. All he knew and cared about was that they had mercilessly annihilated every last Haydonite.

Since putting Faith in this room, Andy had been glued to her bedside. He was glad that there was an attached bathroom as it allowed him to take care of his basic needs without having to leave her alone. As the hours passed by, Doctors and nurses would come in at regular intervals to check on her. The privacy was an additional and much appreciated bonus. Andy found that he couldn't handle being around people right now. He'd slept in the chair, but it had been a restless and troubled sleep. When he closed his eyes, he relived scenes from the fighting. Mike's Humvee exploding played over and over in his mind, his voice calling out to him to only have the missile cut it off. He had checked the burnt-out wreckage after the battle, instantly regretting the decision at seeing the charred remains of his friend.

"Are you okay?"

"Huh? Sorry… yeah, I'm just tired," Andy replied, seeing the nurse giving him a worried look.

"Why don't you take a break? Head down to the nurse's station… they can set you up with a shower and a change of clothes. You can grab some fresh air and stop by the cafeteria for some proper food," the nurse said, flashing him a sympathetic smile.

"Uh, thanks… I don't think I should leave her," Andy replied hesitantly.

The smile on the nurse's face disappeared, becoming a frown, "She'll be fine. You need a break… along with a shower and clean clothes! Now, march! You don't want to make me angry!"

Andy debated about arguing, but he was still wearing the same blood and dirt covered BDUs since the fighting. At the mention of a shower and clean clothes, his nose registered the stale pungent smell of sweat and body odor coming from him. His stomach also growled at the thought of food, making any further resistance futile.

"Okay, you win… What time is it anyway?" he said with a sigh of resignation, heading for the door.

"Almost 11 o'clock," the nurse said, smiling once again.

"AM or PM?" Andy asked sheepishly as he realized he'd lost track of the day and time.

"It's Wednesday morning… Now, go!" the nurse said waving him to leave the room.

Andy was shocked to know it had been over forty-eight hours since the battle ended. He was shaking his head in disbelief as he stepped into the hallway. The light in the hallway was brighter than the room, causing him to wince and blink as his eyes adjusted. He took a few steps before looking back at Faith's room. Shaking his head again, he continued on towards the nurse's station.

 **oOoOo**

The Regent saw the man pass by him as he sat in the waiting room. The hours waiting had been a long and strange vigil for him as he was still trying to figure out why he was here and what he was doing. That moment, when his forces arrived at the battle played over and over in his mind. He'd seen _her_ laying on the ground with that other man cradling her. Rage and pain had exploded and surged through the hive collective. The feelings had consumed him and he vented them on the enemy. He'd torn Haydonite Reavers apart with his mecha's hands. Only once the last Haydonite had been killed did he begin to feel normal again, but he was also spent and empty. He should have withdrawn his forces, but he couldn't leave. Before he realized what he was doing, he had ordered his troops to form a defensive perimeter around the town. He also contacted the Alliance fleet in orbit to get assistance for the people here.

He knew he should have stayed with his mecha, but he felt himself being pulled by a stronger force. Leaving his mecha behind, he walked across the battlefield amidst wreckage and carnage left in its aftermath. The cries of the wounded and dying reverberated in his ears, bringing back flashes of memories… of similar scenes from different places and times. He realized that they were the _other's_ memories, but that didn't make them any less real or apart of him.

The hive expressed their concern for his safety, in his mind, as he walked among the humans, but he wasn't afraid of them. He looked like them that the minor differences, that stood him apart, weren't noticed in the chaotic aftermath of the battle. Several times, he was asked to help with the wounded or assist with moving or unloading supplies. Without a second thought, he pitched in to assist as it was the natural and the right thing to do.

He finally located her, being treated in a hastily erected field hospital. Upon seeing her, he was wracked with conflicting emotions as all the pain and death surrounding him faded to background noise. There had been a surprising initial impulse to run to her, but the hive mind restrained him.

 _"You are not him!"_ their voices echoed in his mind.

He was surprised as his first thought was to respond using a human profanity, but he controlled that impulse and held his thoughts back. What held him from rushing in was the human male by her side. He was the same one that had been cradling her when his forces arrived. The Regent could see how the other man cared for her, which caused him to pause. He watched them for several moments and more memories and emotions swelled inside him. A strong feeling welled up, taking a hold of him. He was taken aback when he realized that he was jealous and envious and how powerful they could be.

A voice whispered in his mind, _"Beware of jealousy… That consumed the other Regent!"_

The Regent should have turned and left… voices were urging him to do it, but he couldn't. He needed to know she would be all right. More voices urged caution and for him to leave. He silenced them by rationalizing that he needed to stay as it was important for him to understand what he was experiencing. During this exchange, the Regess stayed strangely quiet, not providing guidance and refusing to intervene either way. From her silence, he got the impression that the Regess was waiting for something to happen.

When he saw she was being moved, he asked one of the medical personnel what was happening. An exhausted and overworked medic mumbled something about transporting the wounded to other medical facilities for treatment. The Regent now found himself at a crossroads. The prudent and sensible course of action was to get in his mecha, gather his people and rejoin with the fleet in orbit. That _would_ have been the decision to make. Without thinking or realizing why, he organized most of the Shock Troopers to follow him, leaving a contingent behind to help with security around the battlefield. He followed where she was being taken, it didn't take long to arrive at a larger population center. The Regent hastily organized his mecha to form a security perimeter around the town and hospital. He gave them orders to defend against any hostile action or attacks, but to not interfere or impede the humans and their work.

While he sat and waited in the hospital's waiting room, he found himself with a lot of time to think and consider his situation. He had situated himself in a corner chair, staying away from engaging in conversations with the people that came and went from the waiting area. He observed and studied the people that rushed by. Again, he didn't attract any attention as everyone was too busy or too tired to notice him.

While he waited, more memories surfaced, but he chose not to share them with the hive. He found his frustration with the whole situation growing to where he almost stormed out of the hospital several times. Each time, he was held back by something that refused to let him leave.

The Regent was still trying to figure out why he was here and what he was doing when he caught sight of the man leaving her room. Finally knowing she was alone, his heart beat faster, his stomach tightened, and his skin flushed. He found his mind and emotions warring with each other over what to do next, which increased his uncertainty of what he should do. A voice from the back of his mind spoke, taking charge.

 _You've never hesitated before… You know what you have to do…_

Even with the voice urging him on, there was still hesitation on the Regent's part. He sat there, hesitantly, for several moments still debating and considering his options when the voice spoke again.

 _This is your chance! He'll be back soon… If you don't go, you'll regret it!_

With no further debate or thought, he found himself out of the chair and walking towards her room. It seemed like an eternity to cover the distance as the Regent now stood in front of her door, unsure of what he should do next. An unexpected wave of fear took a hold of him. He found himself about to turn and leave when the door suddenly opened and a nurse almost ran into him as she was leaving.

"Oh, I'm sorry! I wasn't expecting anyone here," the nurse said with a tired voice, kneeling down to pick up the patient charts she'd dropped.

The nurse was tired, her mind was on the other patients she still had to check in on that she only glanced at the man. In her tiredness, she didn't notice how his eyes differed from other humans. She only noted that he was dressed in an outfit that looked like a flight suit.

 _Must be a pilot_ , she thought, fixing her charts, putting them back into order.

"Uh, no problem," he said. The Regent paused as he suddenly found himself nervous making it difficult for him to speak. He forced himself to say something, "I-I w-was w-wondering how s-she is doing."

 _Smooth move Romeo,_ the voice in his head taunted.

The Regent took a deep breath to get control of his nervousness and emotions, "I-Is she going to be okay?"

The nurse glanced up from her charts briefly as she stood back up. A tired smile flashed at hearing his nervousness, "Yes, she's going to be fine. She's still unconscious, but her vitals are all looking good. Are you family?"

The Regent exhaled a deep sigh of relief at knowing she would be okay, "No… I'm not family. I-I… I'm just checking on her for a friend."

He paused as he found himself at another crossroads. The quick and easy decision was to turn and leave, but something was urging him to take the other path. He fought to get his nervousness in check, "I-I… H-He hasn't seen her in a long time… C-Could I-I s-see h-her?"

"We usually only let family in… But then these aren't normal times. I don't see a problem, just don't stay too long. Okay?" the nurse said in a distracted voice not looking up from her charts as she left to continue her rounds.

All the Regent could do was nod as the nurse left him standing in the doorway. He took a deep breath and entered the room.

 **oOoOo**

Andy hurried back to Faith's room. The nurse had been right as the shower and food he'd grabbed had a rejuvenating effect on him. Showering and changing into clean scrubs allowed him to remove the smell of the battle that had been hanging over him. He realized that he was trying to fool himself into a false sense of normality. He knew things would never be the same. While in the hospital's cafeteria, he watched TV, catching up on the latest news. He'd gotten so caught up in the news broadcasts covering the liberation of Earth and the Alliance, he lost track of time. Before he knew it, he'd been gone for nearly two hours.

The guilt of being gone so long gnawed at him, but he also realized there was something else there mixing with it… worry and fear. News reports were trumpeting the return of the Arcadia as the flagship of the Alliance fleet. He knew Faith had been involved with someone who'd gone out with the original expedition. The Arcadia's return was now threatening to cast a shadow over their future together. Doubts and worries about Faith and their relationship filled his mind as he entered her room.

He checked those thoughts when he found she wasn't alone. At first, he thought the man was a doctor or another nurse checking on her. That quickly changed as all his fears and worries came roaring back as his mind processed all the scene's details. He became wary when he realized the stranger was wearing a uniform in a style similar to the REF uniform Faith had been wearing. The wariness turned to outright alarm as he saw the stranger's hand caressing her hair and face.

Fear gripped Andy, and he found himself unable to say or do anything to challenge the stranger. The fear of losing Faith suddenly consumed him as he realized that this stranger might be "the guy". Andy pushed the fear away for the moment as a wave of jealousy injected itself into the mix of emotions he was experiencing. He was about to intervene and demand the stranger to identify himself and remove his hands from Faith when the man slowly pulled his hand back from her. Again, he found himself unable to say anything as the stranger stood there for a long moment, silently gazing down at the still unconscious Faith. Time seemed to stop as an uncomfortable silence filled the hospital room. The stranger finally spoke, ending the silent standoff.

"It's okay… I'm just leaving," the man said with a quiet, resigned voice.

A surprised Andy got a close look of this man as he turned around. The stranger looked to be in his mid-to-late twenties with a natural athletic build and dark, unruly hair. What grabbed Andy were the man's eyes. He'd never seen eyes like this before on anyone. They were dark with no white showing. The eyes radiated an intensity of purpose in them that caused Andy to take a breath. Despite the stranger saying he was leaving, Andy's fear of losing Faith grew as he suddenly felt insignificant and unworthy. He found himself speechless as their eyes met and saw the sadness etched in them.

"Take care of her," the other man said in a voice that seemed to echo a lifetime of pain and loss in just those few words. With that, the man left the room. Andy stood there confused, wondering what had happened while he was gone.


	21. There's something you need to know…

**CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE:  
"There's something you need to know…" **

_"…Estimated human casualties from the Haydonite invasion, occupation, and liberation by Alliance forces were in excess of 300 million dead and 200 million wounded across the planet. Some areas of the planet (e.g. China, Middle East, and Europe) were heavily devastated by the fighting. Those areas the hardest hit suffered major societal breakdown because of local governments collapsing along with the destruction of support services and infrastructure. General Coulson did not hesitate to deploy Alliance forces into those areas to prevent complete anarchy and restore order. On more than one occasion, the sight of Invid Shock Troopers patrolling the streets dissuaded any potential troublemakers and rabble-rousers. This helped to bring calm and restore order allowing for much-needed assistance and supplies to be brought in and flow freely, helping the survivors…"_

— excerpt from _"A Galaxy at War: The Haydonite-Alliance War"_

 **oOoOo**

A grimace of pain flashed on Faith's face as she bent over the open fridge. The twinge of pain stabbing through her body was a reminder of that final battle and she, once again, silently cursed the alien and her own stupidity. As she grabbed a can of beer from the fridge, a wisp of a smile flashed on her face as she opened the beer and took a sip. Her smile faded as the knowledge she was disobeying doctor's orders quickly lost its rebellious zest. The dark cloud that was hanging over her reasserted itself.

The lingering pain from her injuries was minor to the pain that still filled her heart and soul. When she'd regained consciousness, she'd at first been confused and then surprised to find herself in a hospital bed with Andy by her bedside. There had been the obvious confusion as her last memories were a jumble of images. She thought she was dead or Andy was crazy when he told what had happened in Adamsville and around the world.

It was one of those moments that didn't feel real when he — hesitantly — told her the Arcadia had returned, leading a large fleet to defeat the aliens. It had been pure instinct and reflex when she jumped out of bed, ignoring the pain as she headed for the door. She was almost to the door when she realized what she was doing and that she'd left Andy just sitting there, looking forlorn and lost. The pain from her wound faded to the background as she found herself being pulled in two directions. Before she could say anything, Andy caught her by surprise when he asked her to get back into bed. He told her he had to make calls to let people know she had regained consciousness.

It took all her self-control not to bolt from the room while waiting as she didn't know what she would do or say when Paul showed up. The little voice in the back of her head was wondering about why Paul wasn't here, but her anxiousness overrode the concern.

An eternity seemed to pass by before the door opened and a small group of people entered. She was surprised to see Buffy and Willow leading a group of nurses and orderlies. Faith did a second take as she realized that one of the nurses wasn't a nurse. A huge smile grew on her face as she recognized Dawn. When she didn't see Paul with the group that small voice expressing concern became louder. Faith's stomach dropped away and her smile faded upon seeing the look on Buffy's sister's face.

Before Dawn could even say anything, Faith was shaking her head and muttering, "No" to make what was happening go away and seem less real. Only the words "Paul was dead" sunk in and made any sense to her as Dawn spoke. For the longest time, she'd given up hope and rationalized that he was dead. That he'd been alive for all this time to die now ripped open the protective scar she'd built up. It took all the orderlies and Buffy to hold her down, while she thrashed and screamed, for the nurse to administer a sedative to calm her down.

It had been a no-brainer decision to go home with Andy. When she'd been discharged from the hospital, her first instinct was to run and hide somewhere to bury herself and forget. How all this must seem to Andy and how he was dealing with her 'losing it' for another man added to the mix of emotions she was already going through. There was a moment where she felt as if she was losing her mind and she'd lost Andy too, but he never wavered. He stepped up and consoled her, not saying a word as he held her as she sobbed quietly. His unspoken love and support reaffirmed how she felt for him and where her place was.

That was almost three weeks ago and Faith was still trying to sort through everything as she got her strength back. It had been fortunate that Andy's house had survived the fighting except for a few holes and broken windows that were easily repaired. It had given them a place to return to and try to move past what they had gone through.

Though the house was the same, it seemed different to her somehow. She realized that Andy was still walking on eggshells around her, doing his best to not upset her. This only caused her to get angry with him acting all gingerly and sensitive with her. Several times she'd called him out on it and immediately was filled with guilt for taking out her pain and issues on him. She wanted to be with Andy. She felt better being around him… at least that is what she kept telling herself.

Though Andy's home had survived, his business hadn't. His garage was nothing but a burnt out shell, yet he was still gone every day. He was out helping his neighbors and the town rebuild. He would leave early in the morning and wouldn't get home until late in the evening. Faith realized part of the reason he was staying away was to give her time and space to recover. The other reason was to avoid the almost constant bickering they seemed to fall into whenever they tried to talk. There had been many a meal they had eaten together in silence, both afraid to voice what they were thinking. Early on, he had tried to get her to talk to him. After a while he'd given up, and the guilt filled her as she recalled how she dismissed his attempts with a curt, "What's there to talk about!"

She let out a sigh, walking back into the living room sipping her beer. She knew she had to do better with Andy if they were going to have a chance. There was a part of her that realized that some of the guilt and pain she was suffering was from knowing she'd given up on Paul. There was a long list of dark, questionable and dumb things she'd done in her life. Knowing she'd slept with Andy while Paul was still alive was now pretty high on that list and it tore at her. Rationally, she knew there was no way she could have known, but that was small comfort to her conscious or her heart.

 _I need to let go… I need to move on…_

She snorted at those thoughts as she knew it was one thing to say it. She sighed again as she sat down and stared at the darken television. The television was working fine, she avoided watching it. The TV was alive with news reports and stories about the Arcadia, Paul and the Alliance. She couldn't stand to watch without the pain wanting to burst through. Whenever Andy was home, he would watch TV, but Faith would retreat to the bedroom to avoid it.

Even with her attempts to avoid the news, she still got rough details about the Arcadia, Paul and this so-called 'Alliance'. She knew if she would ever get over Paul and allow herself to move on, she needed to face her pain.

 _If Andy and I are ever going to have a life together, I need to face this_ , she thought. Her hand reached for the TV remote, pressing the power button. The television came to life and as if to test her resolve, a news program came on, providing the latest updates of events.

 _"…construction on the first of several planned orbital shipyards is proceeding on schedule. With the new space stations being constructed, they are adding to the unprecedented build-up in space around the planet. This follows on top of the recent announcement for the new moon base and expansion of the current scientific outpost on Mars to a larger base. While this will increase humanity's reach into the solar system, some observers and critics are expressing concerns. Questions are being asked if those same resources would be better utilized to help with rebuilding those areas of the planet hit hard by the fighting. In a recent news conference, General Coulson, speaking on behalf of the Alliance, addressed these concerns…"_

The screen switched over to show General Coulson standing behind a podium addressing a room full of reporters. Faith noted the hard serious look on the man's face as he looked into the camera, addressing the reporters and those watching.

 _"I know that we… the human race has suffered much recently from the invasion and fighting to free our world. This is not the time to look inward! We have to build-up our space capacity! This is to not only defend ourselves, but contribute to the fight against the Haydonite Hegemony and help our allies at this critical time!"_

Faith's eyes glazed over as the screen switched back to the news anchor and he began talking about the current political situation in the country. She headed back to the kitchen for another beer as the announcer continued on in the background. The news anchor droned on about how those members of Congress and the Senate, not associated with President Kinsey, were meeting with state representatives. Discussions were ongoing to schedule new elections for both houses and President, along with rebuilding the Supreme Court.

Faith cared little about the current political situation. All she knew was that a junior Senator from California was acting-Speaker of the House which made her interim President. Most of Congress, the Senate along with many others from within government were being hauled up before special tribunals for their actions and collaboration with Kinsey. She'd heard talk about people comparing these tribunals to "show trials", "witch hunts" or "purges", but all that mattered to her was that Kinsey was dead.

With the President dead, she no longer had to hide or worry about the law looking for her. Dawn had told her that General Coulson had granted her, Buffy, and everyone associated with their group full amnesty and pardons for any actions. There had been a few rumblings from some quarters about the amnesty, but no one was going to dispute the General. Faith returned with her beer as the news anchor finished up his report.

 _"…The number of volunteers wanting to join the Alliance forces has been overwhelming. Several countries and militaries have expressed their frustration at the slowness of training, integrating and equipping of humans into the new military alliance. In response, Alliance representatives have promised that more resources are on route from Tirol and other Alliance planets to help speed up training and arming. To help deal with the huge influx of volunteers, several new bases have been opened across the planet along with the expansion of existing bases. In final news… Officials from the Chinese provisional government, the Israeli-Palestinian joint governing council and several other countries have expressed their appreciation to General Coulson and Alliance representatives for the support and supplies that have been given to their countries. Special thanks were expressed to the Invid for deploying their forces to help maintain law and order and assisting with relief operations in those regions hit the hardest…"_

Faith shook her head as she still found it hard to believe how much the world had changed in the last few weeks. She debated about whether to turn off the TV or leave it on. Finally deciding upon a compromise, she laid down on the couch and closed her eyes, leaving the TV on. She lost track of time, but her eyes shot open as her mind picked up on what was being said on the television.

 _"…'Operation Good Fortune' is considered one of the most important operations of the war against the Haydonites. The then Captain Coleiro drew away the defensive forces guarding the Hegemony's huge orbital shipyards and base in the Letiri System. In what could only be classified as a risky gamble. He took the Arcadia into the system and led her fighter squadrons in a strike against the installations, destroying them and crippling the enemy's operations. This victory allowed Coleiro to take the offensive against the Hegemony and liberate Optera…"_

Faith held her breath as she watched the video footage play. She watched Paul as he briefed all the pilots, telling them that the war and everyone's survival was counting on the success of this operation. Her eyes misted over as she saw him on the Arcadia's hanger deck. Gentle tears rolled down her face as she saw him climb into his Veritech's cockpit. Her breathing got ragged when she saw her name emblazoned on the nose of his fighter. The cameraman got a close up of Paul in the cockpit, his face easily visible behind his helmet visor. Seeing his face, Faith wanted the scene to freeze, so she could imprint it into her mind. The scene moved on, changing to show waves of fighters attacking space stations and ships in orbit around a planet.

She couldn't watch anymore. Quickly turning off the TV, she laid back on the couch, staring at the ceiling as thoughts and feelings flowed through her.

"Goodbye, Paul," she whispered to the empty room as more tears rolled down her face.

 **oOoOo**

"Are you sure you want to do this?" the English-accented voice asked.

Rachel Larson sighed. There was a part of her that wanted to tell Giles to just keep driving, but she needed to do this.

 _Faith needs to know what happen_ , Rachel thought as she pushed her cowardice and doubts back down.

"Yeah, I have to do this… I'll need a drink afterward," she said as she got out of the car, making her way to the small nondescript house.

"I think we'll all need a drink afterward," Giles replied, getting out and following Rachel to the house.

 **oOoOo**

Faith hadn't realized she had drifted off to sleep until she awoke to a soft banging. Out of habit, her body tensed at the potential threat, but she relaxed as she realized that someone was knocking at the front door. Out of instinct and reflex, she moved quietly and quickly to the door. She wasn't too worried about any threats because if they had been serious about hurting her, they wouldn't have knocked. Her curiosity about who could be at the door turned to surprise when she found Chief Larson and Giles standing on the front porch.

"Chief? Giles?" Faith asked in a confused voice.

"Hello, Faith," Giles answered in calm, quiet voice.

There was a long moment of silence before Giles spoke up again, "May we come in?"

This shook her out of her surprise, "Uh…yeah, right. Come in… make yourself at home," Faith said as she opened the door to her visitors and showed them to the living room.

The uncomfortable silence returned as Rachel and Giles sat on the sofa and Faith took a chair across from them. Another long moment passed, this time it was Faith that broke the silence.

"So, uh… Chief, how are you doing?"

"It's just Rachel now… I'm no longer in the navy or military," Rachel said with a small smirk, reading the puzzled expression on Faith's face.

"I quit… retired… however you want to call it. I left or I should say more accurately, I'll be leaving the service in a couple of weeks. I just have to wait for my paperwork to be processed."

"I-I don't know what to say," Faith said in a surprised voice, "I would have thought you would stay on until the war was over?"

"This is my third war… four if you count the Zentraedi rebellion. I've seen enough… I've lost too much… too many friends and family," Rachel said with a tired sigh.

At the mention of lost ones, Faith met the other woman's eyes and nodded as the dark cloud of Paul's death descended on the room. She could see the lingering pain and sadness in the older woman's face. It only reminded her of her own pain and sadness she had been wrestling with.

"So, what're you going to do now?" Faith asked desperately wanting to get on to another subject.

"I don't know… I'm going to take some time to think about it. Maybe Giles will make an honest woman out of me… or maybe I'll corrupt him," Rachel said with a small laugh.

Faith couldn't help herself as she laughed at seeing the uncomfortable look cross Giles's face at Rachel's verbal jab.

"Corrupt, Giles? Now that's something I would love to see!" she said, laughing again. She couldn't remember the last time she'd laughed. It felt good to laugh again. The feeling faded as the tension and silence returned. Faith finally broke the silence as she had questions that needed answers.

"How did he die? Dawn didn't tell me much beyond that Paul was dead and what news I've watched has been vague on a lot of details."

Rachel sighed as she'd recognized that this would be one, if not the first, of the questions asked. Details surrounding Paul's death had been restricted with only vague general details being released for public consumption. The news was focusing more on his contributions to the Alliance and war rather than his death.

The Alliance Council had classified and restricted the details of Paul's death along with releasing any images of or discussing the Regent's appearance. The scuttlebutt was that the Alliance wanted to avoid any problems or complications with the Invid at this critical time. Rachel had laughed at this because there were no details to release! Nobody had a clue or idea of what had happened, and the Invid weren't saying much about it either.

She'd heard talk going around about how some of the Invid mecha had flown against the Haydonites. There were a few voices expressing worry about how much the Admiral had told and _given_ the Invid with his sacrifice. She guessed that those same concerns were being discussed at higher levels as well, especially in light of the power that the Invid had projected to help liberate Earth. She didn't share those concerns or worries as she'd fought the Invid before, in her home universe, and the Invid of this universe were nothing like them.

Even with the standing orders in place, Rachel brushed off any concerns about any repercussions for breaking them. She was here because Paul would have wanted her to be here. He was her family and she would have done anything for him, no matter the cost.

 _What're they going to do? Court-martial me? Fire me? I already quit! Screw them!_

What troubled her the most was that Paul hadn't even left a letter or note to explain what and why he'd done what he did. She realized Faith wouldn't like the few answers she had, but the younger woman deserved them.

"I don't know much more than what's been broadcast on the news. What I know is that he went to Optera… the Invid homeworld. I do know that Paul was obsessed with finishing this war and defeating the Haydonites. From what Captain Wright told me, when we found out Earth had been invaded, Paul became even more consumed with ending this war," Rachel said in a quiet voice.

"Optera? What was he doing there? Did he die there? Where is he buried?" Faith asked rapidly.

Rachel let out another sigh, "To be honest, I have no idea… no one has any idea why he was there and what he was trying to accomplish. The Invid have been pretty closed mouth on what happened to him. The only thing they've been saying is that he is 'no more' and what he did allowed them to overcome the Haydonite's PSI jamming. Without whatever he did, the Invid wouldn't have been able to help us like they did..."

Rachel paused for a moment as she debated saying what was on her mind because it sounded too contrived and melodramatic. She gave in because however it sounded, it was still the truth.

"Whatever he did made it possible for the Invid to now fully take part in this war. With them now able to bring their full force to bear, the war will be over sooner… countless lives will be saved."

Rachel watched as Faith closed her eyes at her last words and took a deep breath to get control of herself. Several minutes passed before Faith opened her eyes again, looking at the Chief.

"D-Did he leave a note… or a message?" she asked hesitantly.

Rachel shook her head, "No… If he did, nobody knows anything about it."

Faith closed her eyes again and took another deep breath. She was surprised as a flash of anger flowed through her. The thought Paul would have sacrificed himself and not even leave her a message saying goodbye caused some of her grief to turn to anger. She took another deep breath to get control of her emotions, opening her eyes and seeing the Chief studying her. Faith read the expression on Rachel's face and could tell that the other woman knew she was angry.

"Thanks, Ch— uh, Rachel. I appreciate you coming here to see me," Faith said trying to calm down. Between the TV and this visit, she found herself emotionally drained and now only wanted to be alone. Standing up to show Giles and Rachel out, she was caught off-guard when neither person moved to leave. She suddenly got a weird vibe about this visit and that there was something more that Rachel wanted to tell her.

"Why are you really here?" Faith suddenly asked.

She saw Rachel suddenly look very uncomfortable which seemed to confirm her instincts. Rachel was still debating whether to tell Faith everything about Paul and the Invid. Ever since seeing the Regent, she'd been developing her own theories about what had happened to Paul on Optera. She had discussed them with Giles and he'd been open-minded, yet skeptical. That he accompanied her to visit Faith was a sign of his support and feelings towards her, which she appreciated. Yet, she found herself hesitant to tell the other woman everything because there was no evidence to confirm them other than her gut instinct. She was naturally concerned how Faith would react to being told about the Regent.

"What is it you're not telling me?" Faith asked.

Rachel let out a deep sigh. She still wasn't sure if she should tell Faith about her crazy theories. Despite some lingering reservations, she recognized that Faith deserved — _at least_ — to be told about the Regent.

"There's something you need to know. Something that isn't public knowledge."


	22. Good-bye

**CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO:  
Good-bye **

" _…Aaron and I always planned to get married once the war ended. We kept it a small, quiet ceremony with family and friends in attendance. The only surprise in the day's events was when Faith and Andy arrived. It wasn't anything they did. Everyone was caught off-guard and surprised by her condition. Buffy had told me that they had gotten married a few months back, but even she was shocked to see Faith in her present state. Andy looked happy and was beaming which was perfectly understandable. Faith looked radiant… glowing, but when I talked to her, I got a funny feeling there was something bothering her and the smile and happiness she presented was an act…"_

— Dawn Summers-Hanson

 **oOoOo**

"The 1st Fleet has paused its advance and is holding in the Vesna System. They're performing resupply and receiving reinforcements and replacements. The reconstituted 2nd Fleet will join up with them in two days. Intelligence has intercepted SIGINT that the Hegemony is withdrawing ships and forces from other sectors to shorten their defense perimeter and reinforce their home system. If we act quickly, the 1st and 2nd Fleets can advance and take the Freyeon System, this would tear a hole in the enemy's defense perimeter. This would put us in a good position when we begin the assault on the Haydon system."

Captain Wright paused as he gazed towards the Invid Regent at the end of the table. "If the Invid fleet joins up with the 1st and 2nd Fleets, it would give them a huge numerical and firepower advantage… it would make the advance easier. With the casualties the Invid fleet has experienced here, what kind of support can we expect from the Invid?"

All eyes went to the man, sitting at the end of the table. It looked as if he was resting his eyes, but it wasn't long before they reopened. His dark eyes met the looks directed at him.

"I have communicated with the Regess and explained the current strategic situation to her. We are in agreement we must take the fight to the enemy. We cannot let them recover now that we've thrown them off balance by neutralizing their PSI jammers or deploy more of those synchro cannons. The Regess will release more fleet reserves from Optera to reinforce my fleet and we will join up with the forces in the Vesna System."

"How many more ships is that?" General Coulson asked, studying the Regent.

"We will commit five thousand carriers loaded with fighters, plus another thousand loaded with Shock Troopers…" the Regent paused as gasps erupted from the assembled staff.

"S-Six thousand? Y-You did say six thousand carriers?" someone stammered out.

A wisp of a smile flashed on the Regent's face, seeing the stunned looks on the others' faces, "…This force represents roughly ten percent of our total fleet resources."

More gasps erupted from around the table. Coulson looked at the Regent in disbelief as his mind did the mental arithmetic, grasping the size of the forces the Invid had at their disposal.

 _My god, their fleet outnumbers us and the Hegemony combined!_

Coulson took a moment to recover from his shock before replying, "I want to express my thanks to you and the Regess for providing us these forces. They will certainly make an impact in the coming offensive," he said bowing his head towards the Regent.

The Regent nodded in acknowledgment, "We will release more ships when we begin the attack on the Haydonite's home system… We'll need them for the final assault."

Coulson nodded in agreement. Even with the Invid, the assault on the Haydonite home system would be a hard and bloody affair. Intelligence reports had the Hegemony building an extensive network of defense platforms surrounding their homeworld. Despite knowing the difficult road they still faced, Coulson heard the whispers in the back of his mind telling him they would win this war. They had begun from the moment the Invid fleet had shown up to destroy the Haydonites around Earth.

 _It's not over yet_ , he thought to remind himself to not get too overconfident. Even with the Invid now able to take a larger role in the fighting and along with Earth now mobilizing and adding its people and resources to the war. The enemy had shown that they had a few surprises as well with new and destructive weapons — like the synchro cannon — that would take a toll on Alliance forces.

As the meeting continued, Coulson studied the Regent. In the last few weeks he'd spent around the Invid, he found this Invid behaving more and more like Admiral Coleiro that it became sort of eerie. The Regent's mannerisms and how he reacted were almost exact that, on several occasions, Coulson caught himself almost calling the Regent by the Admiral's name. He had to remind himself that this "person" wasn't Admiral Coleiro. As he watched the Regent, Coulson couldn't help but compare the Invid to his dead friend.

 _He looks tired… If he were Paul, I would say something was troubling him…_

As the meeting ended, Coulson waited until the room had cleared to approach the Regent. He still wasn't sure why he was doing this. He figured it was because the Invid looked like his friend, but he couldn't shake the feeling that something more was going on. His gut was telling him that the Regent looking like Admiral Coleiro wasn't just coincidence.

"Regent."

"Yes, General Coulson?"

"Do you have a spare moment?"

The Regent nodded and took a seat at the conference table. Coulson sat down across the table from him and found himself looking into those dark alien eyes. He took a moment to refocus his thoughts before voicing his concerns.

"Are you feeling all right? Is there something wrong?"

The General's questions caught the Regent by surprise. He'd been irritable and troubled ever since leaving the hospital and _her_. The questions put him on the defensive and his first instinct was to tell the General it was none of his business. He held off the rebuke as he saw the look of concern on the human's face. Memories flashed through his mind, reminding him how this human had been a good friend to _the other_. The Regent considered how much he should say to the human. He wanted to say something, but found it hard… almost embarrassing… to talk about what he was going through. He finally decided he needed to respond to the General's concern as he took a deep breath, letting out a sigh before replying.

"I-I've been having trouble sleeping," the Regent confessed warily, still unsure about even saying this much.

"Are the quarters not to your liking?" Coulson asked. Surprise had been the only description for Coulson's — and everyone else's — reaction when the Regent had asked for quarters on the Arcadia. When the Invid _requested_ to use Admiral's Coleiro's old quarters that surprise turned to shock. This had resulted in a lot rumors, speculation and discussions among the command staff and crew of the Arcadia.

"No… No, they're fine," the Regent paused for a moment, "I'm… I'm just tired…"

The Regent didn't continue as he couldn't put what he was going through into words. All he knew was that ever since leaving the hospital, he hadn't been able to focus and concentrate as he normally did. He'd kept _most_ of his thoughts and emotions hidden from the hive and the Regess. Despite the mental barriers he'd thrown up, enough had leaked through that he sensed a faint undercurrent of confusion and worry circulating through the hive mind. He was a little perplexed and mystified that the Regess hadn't mentioned or spoken about his state of mind. The General interrupted any further thoughts about the Regess.

"Maybe, you would like to go down to the surface for a break. You could check out the sights… I could arrange an escort and tours, if you would like?" Coulson asked, studying the Invid.

The Regent seriously considered the offer. Memories came rushing back, filling his mind. He saw himself and Faith riding a Cyclone through mountains. They seemed so real. He could almost smell the crisp mountain air and feel her arms wrapped around his waist, her body pressing tight against him as he sped up the bike. As quickly as the memory came he shook it off, its lingering tendrils trying to keep a hold on him as he reasserted control.

"No, General… I-I appreciate the offer and consideration. Thank you," the Regent said standing up to indicate that this conversation was at an end. He headed for the door, leaving the General with a confused and concerned look on his face. Coulson watched as the Regent headed for the doorway. He could see that the Regent was struggling with something, but was at a loss of what to do. He hoped that whatever was going on it wouldn't interfere with military operations.

"There's nothing down there for me," the Regent said in a sad, quiet voice as he exited the conference room.

 **oOoOo**

Faith experienced a surreal moment of déjà vu as she disembarked from the shuttle onto the landing deck of the Arcadia. Memories came rushing back of the last time she'd been aboard this ship and the pain of those bittersweet memories stabbed at her.

"You okay?" Rachel asked as she came up beside Faith.

It took a moment for Faith to recover and focus, "Y-Yeah… yeah, I'll be fine. It's… it's just been a long time since I've been here," she said in a quiet voice.

Larson nodded as she understood what the younger woman was going through. She led the Slayer off the busy hanger deck to one of the ship's corridors.

"I hear Xander is aboard with Cassie," Faith asked trying to engage in some uncharacteristic small talk. She tried to hide the nervousness and fear that had been building up as they had gotten closer to the Arcadia. She still couldn't believe what Rachel had told her about Paul and this Invid Regent. It had seemed crazy, but yet she had been the one to ask the Chief to bring her up to the ship.

"Yeah, he's the crew chief for the Grim Reapers," Rachel replied with a proud smile on her face. "He's a natural mechanic, and he's picked up everything I taught him. Did you want to stop and see them?" she asked.

"N-No!" Faith abruptly replied, catching herself by surprise. She wanted to get what she was up here for over with and get back down to the surface and get on with her life… _her life with Andy_. She found it hard to concentrate as they walked down the corridors. Memories came rushing back. She felt herself torn as she wanted to lose herself in them, wishing they could take her back to a different time. They distracted her enough she didn't notice that Rachel had stopped and almost walked into her.

"W-What?" Faith asked in a confused voice.

Rachel gave her a small sad smile, "The Regent is staying in his old quarters. You remember the way?" she asked.

It took Faith a moment, but she suddenly realized where she was. She'd walked this path so many times she could do it with her eyes closed and had done it many times in her dreams over those many years. She found that she couldn't trust herself to speak and just nodded to the Chief.

The pain was obvious in the younger woman's eyes. Rachel's face soften in sympathy, "Take your time… Do what you need to do… Say what you need to say. There'll be a shuttle waiting to take you back down to the surface when you want it."

All Faith could do was nod in understanding. The Chief gave her another sympathetic smile and nod, then turned and headed away from her down the corridor in the opposite direction she would take.

Faith stood there for a long moment as Rachel disappeared, unsure of how she was doing and questioning, once again, why she was here. She took a deep breath to relax and get herself under control.

 _I need to know what happened to him… I need answers_ , she thought as she turned and moved with some trepidation down the corridor.

As her feet guided her towards her destination, she found herself hit with a twinge of guilt. She hadn't been honest with Andy about why she'd left. She'd told him she was going with Rachel and Giles to visit some friends for a couple of days. The look on his face had told her he hadn't completely believed her and knew something else was going on. Before she'd left, Andy reminded her about the question he had wanted to ask her after the battle in Adamsville. He admitted that they were going through a rough patch, but he loved her. As she left, he said he would ask his question when she got back.

Now she walked the decks of a spaceship in orbit heading towards the cabin of her dead lover that some alien was using. Being a Slayer, dealing with the strange was an occupational requirement, but this seemed to be veering into uncharted territory.

Several times she almost turned around to go back to the hanger bay and back down to the planet's surface… and Andy. Each time she fought the urge and continued on her quest. After what Rachel had told her about this Invid Regent, she needed to see "it". She wanted to face this _creature_ that looked like her Paul and wanted to ask it "Why did Paul have to die?" She used those growing embers of anger to steel her resolve.

Before she realized it, she stood in front of a cabin door. More memories came rushing back as she recalled all the times she'd spent here. The whisper of desire, intermingling with the memories, caught her by surprise as she stood there staring at the cabin door.

 _What do I do now?_

Time seemed to drag as she stood there staring at the door, finding herself unsure of what to do next and doubting her purpose and reason for being here. Once again, thoughts of turning around and going home to Andy danced in her head. The urge and wanting to know what had happened to Paul and see this Invid Regent overrode thoughts of leaving now. She took another deep breath as she knocked on the cabin door and waited for a response…

 **oOoOo**

The Regent was staring at the blue and white world that hung in the observation window of the quarters he was using. Despite the soft relaxing music playing, filling the room, his thoughts and emotions were a jumbled whirlwind as he looked at the planet and then around the room. As the music played, he found himself torn as everything _seemed_ familiar, but a part of him kept reminding himself that he was a stranger here.

The word… _whiskey_ … echoed in his head as he looked at the amber liquid filling the glass in his hand. He'd known exactly where the bottle had been hidden in the cabin. He _knew_ the bottle had been a gift from General Coulson. The memory of the General giving him the gift was as clear as if he'd been there. The Regent brushed them off as he reminded himself that those weren't his memories. Without thinking, he had opened the bottle and poured himself a glass of the liquid. There had been a moment's hesitation as he stared at the glass. More memories came rushing back, and he quickly downed the drink.

As the warmth of the alcohol hit his system, he quickly refilled his glass. This time he sipped the drink, savouring the taste as he stared at the planet, listening to the song playing. His mind continued to race with troubling thoughts and memories. Each day, he fought to push them down, but they kept returning stronger and more intense. He tried to shield and protect the hive mind and the Regess from what he was experiencing. He continually heard their voices… probing at the edges of his thoughts. Ignoring them, he tried to find some semblance of peace and quiet as questions echoed in his mind.

 _Who am I? What am I?_

He was so wrapped up in his thoughts he almost didn't hear the soft knocking on his cabin door. When he realized what the sound was, he figured that it was one of the ship's crew checking in to see what food he wanted for his evening meal. There was a moment where he debated ignoring them as he found himself not hungry. The warm sensation from the whiskey and looking at the diminished contents of the bottle made him decide he would ask the crewman to bring him another bottle.

"Enter," he said as went over to the desk and turned off the music. He turned his attention back to the observation window as the door opened.

A sharp intake of breath caught his attention. Time froze as he suddenly realized who was in the room with him. He spun to face the woman standing just inside the door of his quarters. Memories and emotions flooded through as his eyes ran up and down her, overwhelming him. The look of shock on Faith's face was plainly visible. Words failed him as their eyes met. The pain in her eyes was obvious and he could see that she was fighting to maintain her self-control.

"W-Why?" she asked in a hushed voice.

It was a simple question for the Regent as he knew the answer. But, how did one explain the Flower of Life and the tangled complexities, power and prophecies of The Shapings to a non-Invid?

 _I-It looks exactly like him… just younger_ , Faith thought as her eyes studied him, picking out the details.

It was the eyes that gave him away. The eyes looked darker and different from what she remembered Paul's being. She noted the faint outline of a scar over his left eye. If Rachel hadn't told her that this creature was Invid, she would have sworn this was Paul.

"Why did he have to die?" Faith asked, finding her voice even as she was being torn apart looking at Paul's identical — yet younger — twin.

For the Regent, he experienced urges and desires looking at Faith as more memories and feelings came bursting to the surface. They fought with his self-control as he tried to not let them leak through his self-imposed barriers to the hive mind. He wasn't worried about them affecting the rest of the Invid collective, he didn't want to share them with anyone else.

 _They're m-my… I-I mean t-they're his memories…_

For Faith, her frustration was building past her breaking point. She had come here for answers and looking at this creature that was the spitting image of a younger Paul, she found her emotions being pulled in every direction. What pushed her over was the Regent continuing to stand there staring at her, not saying a word.

"SAY SOMETHING DAMNIT! TELL ME WHY PAUL HAD TO DIE!"

The Regent tried to find his voice as an avalanche of memories and emotions threatened to bury him as he continued to stare at her. The vision that The Shapings had shown _him_ flashed again in his mind. His thoughts formed the reply.

 _I-I… He did it for you…_

The Regent found himself overwhelmed as there was so much that he wanted to tell her, but he couldn't speak as he continued to stare at her.

Faith had reached her breaking point as it was taking everything she had to maintain her self-control. She fought the urge to beat this Invid until it told her what she wanted to know. That urge collided with her other emotions as she looked at this image of Paul. She was being torn in two as this _creature_ still hadn't said a word or attempted to answer her questions. As she stared into the Invid's eyes, the throbbing pain in her heart stabbed hard as she recalled the last time Paul and her had been together.

 _He promised me he would come back… I told him, "Don't make a girl a promise, you can't keep."_

As her heart pounded faster, her eyes burned and blurred. The realization that this had been a bad idea became self-evident. She suddenly wanted to get out of there, escaping this room and the memories it held. Turning to leave, a hand grabbed her arm catching her off-guard. A voice, she easily recognized, spoke barely above a whisper causing her to pause.

"Wait…"

The Regent didn't understand why he did what he did. All he knew was that he couldn't… _didn't_ … want her to leave.

Faith's Slayer reflexes kicked in as she grabbed the Regent, pushing him hard against the wall pinning him. She didn't understand what she was doing as she found her forearm pressed against his throat, finding herself face-to-face, looking him intensely in the eyes.

Time froze for her. The only sound in the room was her heart beating rapidly as she felt the heat radiating from Invid's body as she pinned him. She found herself at the edge of an abyss and she didn't know where to turn to as she continued staring into his eyes. The look he gave her pushed her over the edge as the memories mixed with a sea of wants, desires, pain, guilt and regret helped pull her under. Tears filled her eyes as an inner voice kept telling her to leave… _before it was too late_. His quiet voice caught her by surprise.

"It's okay… It'll be all right…"

Her inner walls crumbled and her grip loosened on the Invid, yet he didn't move. As she continued staring into his eyes, she could swear that they looked less alien than they had when she'd first looked into them. Again, her inner voice was screaming warnings for her to leave… to not give into the lie.

 _I want to believe the lie… I want to believe it!_ she thought pushing away the inner voice.

Before she could give it any more thought, she pressed her lips against his. She had wanted this for so long she didn't care anymore about giving into the lie. There was no hesitation on the Regent's part as he responded with the same enthusiasm as their kissing grew in intensity and passion. A fire exploded in Faith that she'd kept buried for so long. A soft moan escaped her lips as his hands moved up and down her body with a familiar touch she'd missed for so long. They pulled at each other's clothes as they made their way to the bed…

 **oOoOo**

On Optera, a satisfied smile crossed the Regess's face as images and emotions flowed through her. Her mind along with her children's minds stirred, reacted and absorbed what their Regent was experiencing. The Regess had known of his doubts and turmoil as his memories resurfaced despite his attempts to block them from her and the rest of the hive. Now, lost in the depths of passion his blocks and defenses disappeared. The intensity of not only his passions, but the female's as well swept over and through the hive mind and the Regess. A sense of joy overcame her as the passion triggered a change in the hive mind that was even more profound than the arrival of the Regent.

This moment held deeper and profound satisfaction for her because this was the start of what The Shapings had shown _her_. For generations, the Flower of Life hinted and given glimpses they could become something more than what they were. For the longest time the Haydonites had been the roadblock on their evolutionary path. The humans were removing that roadblock, but they still needed something to start this change. Admiral Coleiro had been that catalyst. His transformation into the Regent ignited the evolutionary change in the Invid.

As more emotions and images washed over her and the hive mind, she recalled the first time she'd touched his mind. All those years ago, she'd seen what her race could — _would_ — achieve. She had seen what The Shapings had shown the Admiral. His path had been necessary to not only save the Invid, but his species and everyone he loved and cared about. The Shapings also gave her a glimpse past the dark veil he couldn't see past and it was wondrous. As the two lovers reached the climax of their passion, the vision came to her once again…

 _A huge column of pure blinding energy erupted from the surface of Optera, climbing higher and higher into space. As it rose higher, the column transformed, becoming a huge bird… a phoenix of pure energy. She gasped at seeing the bird extend its wings, climbing and soaring into space, heading for a higher level of existence._

Wonder and happiness filled the Regess's heart seeing this vision of her race's future. The vision faded as the couple's passion climaxed, flowing over her and the rest of the hive. In that moment of climax, she felt the spark of life form. Another smile came to her face as The Shapings showed her a glimpse of what was to come.

She realized that even with the Haydonites on the retreat they were still a threat not only to her race, but the other races in the galaxy. The removal of that threat was paramount before the great work began in earnest. Seeing the future of the Invid assured gave her even more satisfaction.

 **oOoOo**

While the Regess and the Invid witnessed what was occurring in orbit around Earth, they were not the only ones becoming aware that something monumental had happened…

In a dark place, hidden away, The First Evil contemplated the failure of its agents and plans. Disbelief and denial absorbed the being's thoughts as it tried to comprehend and deal with this reversal in its fortunes with all its plans in ruins. Anger and desire for revenge coursed through the being as it contemplated its next moves. The knowledge that one of its adversaries was dead, provided some solace to the entity.

 _He thought he would end me! That fool had no idea what he was up against!_

A sudden jolt of energy surged through The First cutting short any further exultation over Paul Colerio's death. The sensation was a strange one for this non-corporeal entity. It didn't know what happened, but it _felt_ that something was different… a change that didn't bode well for it and its plans.

The First Evil quickly redirected its thoughts to consider what steps to take next. Its servants and followers would be its eyes and ears to search out this _change_. Without knowing what had happened, The First would have to remain vigilant and patient as it bided its time until it could strike at and remove this unknown threat.

 **oOoOo**

Light streamed in through the cabin window casting soft shadows across the room. The view provided was a spectacular one of Earth, the ships and stations in orbit around the planet. Faith noticed none of it as she stirred and quietly sat up in bed, thankful that the form lying next to her hadn't stirred. Panicked thoughts filled her head as she looked at the person sleeping next to her.

 _My god! What I have done!_

Guilt and regret filled her along with indecision. Finally, making her mind up, she moved quietly, praying _he_ wouldn't wake up because she didn't know what she would say or do if he did. As she got out of bed, gathering her scattered clothes together, an inner voice chided her for making another stupid decision. She brushed the voice aside as she added what she'd done to her life's list of foolish and stupid decisions.

 _Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!_ the inner voice chided her as she got dressed.

She glanced again to the form still asleep and a part of her recalled what they had just done. A rising sense of shame grew in her. She admitted to herself that the sex had been great, but she attributed it to the fact she'd been imagining this look-alike as her Paul. Along with the shame came the guilt as she admitted that she'd given into the lie and hadn't cared during the heat and intensity of the moment.

 _What have I done? What am I going to do?_

Thoughts of Andy stabbed at her, causing her to feel sick to her stomach at how she'd betrayed him.

 _Andy, I so wanted to believe it was him… Please forgive me!_

She looked once again at the bed. A surprising wave of desire washed over her as memories of what had happened flashed in her mind. She pushed the memories and desire from her thoughts.

 _All I did was screw an alien that looked like my dead lover!_ she thought trying not to laugh at the craziness of the situation as her mind sought to cope with what she'd done.

She started for the door, but paused as her hand went to the pendant around her neck. More emotions and memories washed over her as she looked at the pendant and to the form asleep in the bed. For a moment, she found that she didn't want to leave. The tantalizing lure of the lie dangled in front of her, all she had to do was give into it.

 _He's dead… I can't go back!_ she thought taking the pendant off and looking at it as a reminder of the past and what could have been.

Moving stealthily, she approached the bed. She could see the profile of the man's face. A twinge of pain echoed in her heart as she placed the pendant on the pillow next to him. Quickly and quietly, she left the cabin and the scene of her betrayal to Andy. Once in the corridor, the sense of regret and that she'd made the wrong decision surprised her. She brushed it away as she headed towards the hanger bay… and home.

 **oOoOo**

The Regent awoke as the cabin door closed. Lifting his head, he looked towards the door first, but the object on the pillow next to him immediately caught his eye. He recognized the object and reached for it. There was no confusion as he understood what it symbolized and the message Faith was leaving as he stared at the pendant in his hand.

A voice was screaming inside his head to go after her. He found himself filled with the urge to tell her what he was feeling and that he wanted her to stay with him. The voices of the hive, at the edges of his thoughts, reasserted the reality of who and what he was, keeping him from acting on his impulses. His mind began to rationalize what had happened in order to push away the pain and confusion he was experiencing.

 _She thought I was him…_

He rolled onto his back, staring at the ceiling. Desires and wants mixed with thoughts of doubt, pain and regret. He knew he could stop her and force her to stay, but it wouldn't change the situation. His hand grasped the pendant tightly as he looked again to the cabin door.

"Goodbye, Faith…" he said in a quiet voice.

 **oOoOo**

"Regent…? Sir?"

The Regent's eyes were so intensely locked on the pendant in his hand, he was unaware he was being spoken to.

"Sir?"

The Regent finally noticed his surroundings as he pushed the memories aside, focusing on where he was. He noted the concerned and confused look on Captain Wright's face.

"Are you all right, sir?" Wright asked, studying the Invid Regent with worry, noting the pendant in the Regent's hand.

Taking a deep breath, the Regent took another glance at the pendant as his hand closed around it, "I'm fine, Captain… What's the status of the fleet?"

"The Invid carriers from Optera have arrived and formed up with us… All ships report they are at 'Condition-One' and ready to fold!" Wright reported.

The Regent acknowledged the report with a nod as he looked around the bridge of the SDF-4. During the intervening weeks, repairs had brought the ship into a more battle-ready condition. While the cruiser Fantoma was still providing propulsion and spacefold capability, the SDF-4's weapons systems were now complete and fully tested. Along with her full complement of weapons, the full air wing, now stationed aboard, gave her a bigger bite. Her shield system was now fully in place to provide added protection.

There had been some debate among Alliance command about who would command the attack on the Freyeon System. When the Regent asked to command the combined fleet, there had been surprise and some reticence on their part. There were still concerns about the Regent and how powerful the Invid were. General Coulson convinced the Alliance Council that it was in the best interests of everyone to have the Invid take the lead now. The General couldn't put into words his reasons why, other than say he trusted the Regent to do what was in everyone's best interests.

The Regent was now fleet commander of the combined 1st and 2nd fleets along with thousands of Invid carriers and the millions of mecha they carried. His gaze went to the bridge's observation windows and the scanner displays that tracked what was now the largest fleet in the Alliance.

The knowledge of how much power was at his command and he could wield brought old memories to the surface. He recalled how T.R. Edwards had schemed and plotted to make himself a new Robotech Master.

 _That bastard Edwards would have sold his soul for a fleet like this! Even though we're not up to Zentraedi Grand Fleet size, we're nothing to laugh at… The Haydonites will be in for a shock when we arrive…_

"Captain, inform the fleet to begin fold operations for the Freyeon system… Inform all ships that we will be using operational plan 'Faith-Two'," the Regent ordered.

"Yes, sir!" Wright replied.

The Regent watched as the Captain carried out his orders and the bridge crew worked to prepare the ship and the rest of the fleet for the spacefold. The Regent found his thoughts drifting again as the countdown began and the fold field began forming around the ship. He grasped the pendant tightly in his hand, running his thumb over the symbol carved into the jade as the timer count down. The reality of the spacefold executing intruded on his memories bringing him back to the moment.

"Good fortune to us all…" the Regent whispered as the ship folded.


	23. New challenges… Old enemies…

*****WARNING: Strong Language and Disturbing Scenes of Violence*****

 **CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE:  
New challenges… Old enemies… **

" _…The final assault on the Haydon system and Haydon IV was a brutal and bloody affair by any standards. After the Alliance smashed the Hegemony's defenses in_ _the Freyeon system, their forces retreated in panic as the true size and strength of the Invid fleet was revealed. The collapse of the Hegemony's defenses accelerated the timetable for 'Operation Downfall'…_

 _Despite the panic that seemed to grip the Haydonites, they gathered their remaining forces for a final stand in their home system. There are no surviving records from the Hegemony to provide their perspective along with any information or insight to their decisions and strategy. From the battle records it can be deduced that the Haydonites knew they were doomed and wanted to bleed and cripple the Alliance before they fell._

 _From the Alliance perspective, there would be no negotiation and no mercy given. They were more than willing to pay the price to crush the species that had occupied and tormented them for so long. One is still humbled when watching video of the battle as tens of thousands of Invid carriers filled the space in the system. The carriers disgorging millions of mecha to swarm the Haydonite fleet as Alliance capital ships engaged with energy weapons and missiles at long range. The SDF-4 firing its main gun on the Haydonites' homeworld, sweeping away ships, fighters and defense platforms in its path…_

 _Notwithstanding the debates and discussions, that continue even today, over the decision and morality of what took place in the Haydon system. The Alliance had set a precedent in using force to eliminate an enemy that was deemed a threat. This precedent would hang over and haunt the Alliance during later events on Earth and Kepler-22…"_

— excerpt from _"A Galaxy at War: The Haydonite-Alliance War"_

 **oOoOo**

"Andy! It's time!" Faith called out from the other side of the house.

"Huh? Yeah, I'll be right there," Andy answered in an absent-minded voice while watching TV. He found the news coverage from the final assault on the Haydonite's homeworld engrossing and satisfying.

 _"…This latest released footage by the Alliance documents the main Alliance fleet, commanded by the Invid Regent, overwhelming and smashing through the final Haydonite defenses in the Haydon System. Despite facing fierce resistance and taking heavy casualties, Alliance forces continued their advance on Haydon IV. At this time, I would like to warn those viewing that some of you may find the following video footage disturbing…"_

Andy's eyes went wide in shock as the video clip played… Ships filled the screen, and the space around the planet. They suddenly became harder to discern as smaller ships launched. Massive swarms of Invid mecha and Alliance drone fighters launched from the huge numbers of Alliance warships and Invid carriers. They were advancing on what seemed like a pitifully small number of Haydonite fighters, capital ships and defense platforms surrounding a dark-looking planet. A fleeting moment of sympathy drifted through Andy's thoughts seeing the badly outnumbered and doomed Haydonites move to meet the Alliance attack. That sympathy quickly vanished as he recalled the images of the survivors from the processing facilities and their stories of horror.

"Burn, you mother fuckers!" he muttered to the TV as the lead elements of the Alliance fleet struck the Haydonite defenses.

As he watched the Alliance fleet tear into the enemy, a twinge of guilt that he hadn't re-enlisted in the Marines hit him again. A number of his old friends and acquaintances from his Marine Corps days had re-enlisted or transferred over to the Alliance Marine Corps. He'd decided on re-enlisting when Faith broke the news to him that had changed both their lives.

Finding out he would be a father changed his outlook on life. He didn't have the same urge to run off to war, especially one that was in its final throes. His first and main concerns were Faith and their unborn child. That's all that mattered to him now.

"ANDY!" Faith shouted breaking his train of thought.

"WHAT?" he replied, annoyed at having his thoughts and TV watching disrupted.

"It's time!" Faith said as she walked — which was more of a waddle — into the living room.

"Time for what?" Andy asked still not sure what was going on and why she was nagging him.

" _It's time!_ " she replied in an exasperated voice, rolling her eyes and shaking her head at Andy's apparent inability to understand what was happening.

It took Andy a full moment for what Faith was saying to sink in. When it finally clicked in, his eyes widen in shock. He jumped out of his chair rushing towards her.

"A-Are y-you s-sure?" he asked nervously as he bounced around the room.

Faith nodded, "Yeah, my water broke, and this kid is kicking like he wants out!"

Andy stopped his nervous pacing and took a deep breath to get himself under control, "You can do this… You can do this…" he muttered to himself.

"I'll grab your bag," he said, finally feeling some measure of control over the situation.

"It's at the door, Faith replied with a smirk that suddenly turned to a painful grimace.

"Y-You okay?" Andy asked worriedly.

"Yeah, just another contraction… We need to get going."

"O-Okay… okay," Andy replied, saying it more for himself than for Faith.

He started for the door, suddenly stopping in his tracks, "I better call my folks and let them know," he said heading towards the phone.

"We can call them and Giles and Rachel from the car!" Faith said as she waddled slowly towards the door.

"Yeah… yeah, you're right," Andy said taking another deep breath as he moved to grab the bag and Faith's arm to help her out to the truck.

 **oOoOo**

 _"Master, we have received news."_

The First Evil gazed upon the kneeling Bringer, "I take it that the baby is coming?"

 _"Yes, master! The Slayer has gone to the hospital… Are you sure you still do not want them killed?"_ the Bringer asked with his thoughts.

The minion caught The First Evil off-guard with his questioning of its orders. For a moment it considered ordering the other Bringers to tear apart this impertinent one, but held off as its servants were not as abundant as they once were. Besides it wasn't as if it hadn't considered that option before deciding on this plan.

"No… I want you to grab the child… _alive_ … and bring it to me! If anyone gets in your way, you can kill them. Understood?"

 _"Yes, master! We understand and will carry out your commands!"_

 **oOoOo**

"Okay, push," the doctor said.

Faith swore as she pushed. Pain racked her body as another contraction stabbed her.

"I can see the head! You have to bear down on the next contraction."

Faith, screaming, pushed as another heavy contraction hit her, "WHY THE HELL DID I LET YOU TALK ME INTO NOT HAVING AN EPIDURAL!" She took another deep breath, giving Andy a glare that could melt steel, "I HATE ALL MEN! I SHOULD'VE BEEN A LESBIAN!"

"It's okay, honey," Andy said tiredly. He noted the sympathetic looks from the doctor and nurses as he gave them a small embarrassed smile and shrug. They were old hands at this. They'd seen and heard almost everything that could happen during a birth. Gazing at the clock, Andy absently noted they were easily past the twelve hour mark for Faith's labor.

"You're almost there. Just a little more," the doctor said in a soothing voice.

"You can do it, honey!" Andy said in a loving voice as he gave Faith more ice chips. He glanced at the birthing bed rails and was glad he wasn't holding her hand. Her grip had crushed the rails with each contraction.

The sweat was running off Faith. She'd heard stories about childbirth, but she thought her Slayer powers would allow her to shrug it off. Unfortunately, she'd been wrong as this was the most intense pain she'd ever gone through… which was saying a lot considering the number of times she'd been stabbed. For the first time in her life, she didn't know if she had the energy to keep going. She tried to focus on Andy's voice, but another contraction hit her. The overwhelming pain almost caused her to pass out. As the haze cleared, a tiny voice filled the room with crying.

"Congratulations… You have a son," the doctor said in a tired, yet relieved voice.

For Faith, it was as if she was in a dream as it seemed unreal as she watched a nurse wrap up _her_ baby and bring it to her.

"A-A boy?" she said, sounding confused.

"Yeah, honey. We have a son!" Andy replied proudly in a tired voice.

"He's a beautiful baby," the nurse said as she handed the baby to her.

As Faith took the baby from the nurse, an awful fear hit her as the reality of the situation sank in that she wasn't ready for motherhood. It wasn't like she'd planned on getting pregnant. It had been as much a surprise to her as it had been to Andy. Besides her fears and self-doubts about becoming a mother there was another fear lurking at the back of her thoughts, tormenting her. When she'd first found out she was expecting, she'd done the calendar count and it was _very_ close… close enough to have her worried. Those worries diminished as the blood tests and ultrasounds showed a normal well-developing fetus.

The nurse interrupted her thoughts, "He has such beautiful unique eyes."

Faith's stomach dropped away as she looked into her son's eyes, seeing the deep dark eyes. They seemed to sparkle with an intelligence and awareness which surprised her for a baby. In the angle and light, she could have sworn she saw a faint shade of purple in those young eyes looking back at her.

"You okay, Faith?" Andy asked worriedly, seeing his wife go pale.

Faith stared at Andy, finding herself torn over whether she should tell him. She looked back down at her son and the purple tinge had mercifully disappeared… as if her son had _known_ what she was thinking.

"Y-Yeah… I-I'm exhausted… that's all," she replied somewhat shaky, questioning what she'd seen.

 _It was a trick of the lights! My mind playing tricks with me!_ she thought still unsure of what she'd seen. She had no doubts, now, about _who_ the father was. The guilt tore at her as Andy took the baby to hold.

Watching Andy cradle _her_ son, she debated about telling him the truth.

 _Yeah, tell your husband he isn't the father right after you've given birth… That'll end well_ , an inner voice sarcastically chided her.

"Have you decided on a name?" a nurse asked interrupting Faith's thoughts.

Andy smiled as they had already picked out a name if it was a boy, "Yeah, it's—"

"Alex," Faith said cutting him off.

Andy moved closer to his wife, shaking his head in confusion, "Honey, I thought we'd decided… If we had a boy I wanted to name him, Michael," he said. He pushed down his growing annoyance as he found the best day of his live being ruined by Faith's strange behavior. He'd initially chalked it up to the long labor and delivery, but now the seeds of doubt were planted as he suspected that something else was wrong.

Faith didn't know why she wanted to change the name of the baby. She'd agreed with Andy on the name if they'd had a boy. It was a strange sensation, but seeing her son, something told her that his name was _supposed_ to be Alex. She took her son back from Andy, cradling and rocking him gently.

"Your name is Alex…" she whispered, smiling to her son. Her smile grew larger as the infant gurgled as if in response to her voice.

 **oOoOo**

"Penny for your thoughts?" James asked.

"Huh? Sorry," Buffy said shaking her head and giving James a smile, "I'm still finding it hard to believe Faith is a mom."

"Uh-huh… Makes you think," James said with a smirk plastering his face.

Buffy bubbled with happiness that James had gotten leave and returned to Earth. She'd watched the newscasts with worry as the battle for the Haydonite home system had raged. Even knowing he was on the SDF-4 did little to calm her nerves until the battle had ended. With the fall of the Haydonite home system, she'd celebrated as much as everyone else at the defeat of their enemy. With James now back on Earth they'd taken the time to 'celebrate' right. She was enjoying the moment and happiness she was having. Even her Slayer duties had taken a back seat as there seemed to be no threats or impending apocalypses to deal with. She could just be with James and enjoy being a normal couple.

Buffy shook her head, "Oh, no you don't! I'm not ready for that yet… I'm just getting used to having you around again. Plus, you might hop across the galaxy with no notice."

James shook his head, "With the Haydonite home system gone… the war is winding down. All that's left is mopping up a few remaining outposts and tracking down those few ships that escaped. The Alliance is shifting to peace-time operations…"

"You mean?" Buffy asked excitedly.

James's smile grew larger, "Yup, Got my orders this morning… As of now, I'm stationed on Earth assigned to the new UN Space Defence Force. Looks like you'll be stuck with me longer."

Buffy let out a squeal of delight as she jumped into James's arms, giving him a long passionate kiss. A familiar voice interrupted the kiss.

"Ahem, I take it you had good news," Giles said in his standard reserved way of understating things.

Buffy pulled, reluctantly, away from James. A huge smile was beaming from her face. Another voice beat her to the response.

"Rupert… You could've let them have a couple more minutes to enjoy the moment," Rachel said with a laugh.

"Thank you, Rachel… My thoughts exactly!" Buffy teased with a chiding voice, trying to give Giles an annoyed look, but failed as her happiness broke through.

"Uh… yes. I'm sure you can easily pick up where you left off," Giles said, with a slight smile at seeing Buffy happy.

He added, "I just want to note that visiting hours will be ending soon. If we want to see Faith and her child tonight, we will need to hurry along."

"Don't you love how he takes charge," Rachel said to Buffy, laughing.

Giles rolled his eyes, letting out a sigh. He glanced over at James for some sign of support.

"Hey, don't look at me," James said, smirking, "We're outnumbered! I think our only option is to surrender."

"Smart man!" Buffy said with a smile, giving James another quick kiss as the group made their way for the hospital entrance.

After checking in with the main reception desk, they made their way to Faith's hospital room. It had been a long tiring drive from Denver to the hospital in Lampasas, but they were all excited to see the new baby. As the group made their way to the room, Buffy found her thoughts drifting as she occasionally glanced at James. She started seriously considering what he'd said jokingly earlier.

 _Things have been quiet… The world is at peace… The war's pretty much over and James is now home… Things are looking pretty good! Maybe he's the one, and this is it? Maybe I can actually have a normal life now?_

Buffy shelved those thoughts for now as they entered Faith's hospital room. From Buffy's experiences, going to the hospital was an unhappy or stressful moment. This time it was different. They were all there to celebrate the new life of the newest member to join their little group.

"So, how's the new mom doing?" Buffy asked as she gave Faith a hug as she sat up in her bed.

"Tired… The little guy took his sweet time in deciding to come out," Faith replied.

Buffy laughed as she could easily see how tired Faith was, "Where's Andy? How's the new dad doing?"

"H-He took his folks home… H-He's doing fine," Faith replied, smiling weakly.

Buffy immediately sensed that something was wrong by Faith's response. She decided that now was not the time to ask pointed serious questions as Giles and Rachel came up and gave Faith hugs, offering their congratulations to the new mother.

"So, does he have a name yet?" Buffy asked.

"He's called Alex…" Faith replied.

Buffy couldn't help notice the change in Rachel's face at hearing the name of Faith's son.

"Alex, huh? Named after anyone in particular?" Rachel asked.

Buffy was getting a strange vibe, catching the tone in Rachel's voice and seeing Faith squirm at the question.

 _Whatever is going on, this is not the time to air it out_ , Buffy thought.

"So where is the little guy?" Buffy asked trying to change the subject.

Faith let out a small sigh of relief at Buffy changing the topic, "They took him down to the nursery to change him. I'll buzz the nurses to bring him back up."

Faith pressed the call button by her bed. They talked on about the delivery and plans for the baby.

"That's funny… They're usually quick in responding," Faith said when no one responded to her call.

As Faith got out of bed, Buffy quickly stepped up, "You stay there! I'll wander down to the nursing station to tell them… They're either probably busy or on a break."

James accompanied Buffy to the nursing station. He didn't want to miss an opportunity to be alone with her as he squeezed her hand in his, feeling her return the squeeze and giving him a smile.

"So… Now that I'll be around more. Maybe we can talk about living accommodations," he said with a huge grin as they reached the nursing station.

Buffy had been giving some happy thought to that same topic, but her response died on her lips as she looked over the counter of the nursing station. A pool of blood coming from underneath one of the office doors drew her attention.

"Jesus!" James exclaimed as Buffy rushed behind the nursing station, opening the door. The sight of three dead bodies — two nurses and an orderly — with their throats sliced open, greeted her. Their faces and lifeless eyes etched forever with horror and surprise. Her mind immediately switched into Slayer mode, trying to determine what the threat was.

A dread of horror went through her, _Faith giving birth and now this! This can't be a coincidence!_

"Get back to the room! I'm heading down to maternity ward!" she ordered James. She didn't see the look of horror on his face as he realized what was going on. His own combat instincts kicked in as he sprinted back to the room.

Buffy was moving at full sprint for the stairwell as a part of her tried to push back the growing horrible realization of what was happening. She bounded down the stairs, trying to recall which floor the maternity ward was on. Luckily the hospital wasn't that large and the first door she tried told her she was on the right floor...

The body sprawled on the floor in a pool of blood only confirmed her worst fears. Her heart froze as the sounds of crying drifted down the hallway. She sprinted towards the crying, in her rush she almost made her first and last mistake as a Bringer lunged at her from a doorway. Only her instincts and reflexes saved her as she spun away from the slashing blade. She quickly counter-attacked with a spin-kick that caught the Bringer in the head, dropping him to the ground. There was no hesitation as she grabbed the demon and snapped his neck in one swift motion.

The sound of small voices crying, refocused Buffy as she armed herself, picking up the knife the dead Bringer dropped. Moving quickly down the hall, the crying seemed to die down as she reached the entrance to the maternity ward. She tried to keep herself in control as she confronted a nightmarish scene… the bodies of hospital staff littered the floor. It was at that moment that six Bringers exited a room. Buffy's eyes widen in shock and horror seeing one of the Bringers carrying a crying infant…

She knew whose baby it was as four of the Bringers, brandishing blades, rushed her. She knew what they were doing. The four would block her as the others escaped out the other emergency exit stairwell with the baby. She didn't hesitate as she charged the four attackers…

The first one, she caught across the throat with the knife she'd picked up, but then had to dodge as another demon was quickly on her. She struggled to dispatch this attacker and not get swarmed by the other two. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the two Bringers, escaping with the baby. She knew in her heart she wouldn't get to them before they got outside the hospital. If they got outside, they would disappear into the night with Faith's son.

The situation suddenly changed as the emergency exit door flew open and Buffy heard a scream.

"BASTARDS!"

She recognized Faith screaming as she hit the lead Bringer, grabbing him and throwing him into the wall. The demon hit the wall hard and crumpled to the floor, but he recovered fast, standing up and drawing his knife. As Faith grappled with that Bringer, Buffy saw James leap from the doorway heading towards the other Bringer carrying Faith's son. She wanted to scream a warning as she saw the demon slash at James with the knife in his free hand.

A part of her mind registered James getting cut by the knife as he plowed into the demon like a linebacker hitting a running back. Buffy couldn't watch as she fought the remaining Bringers facing her. All she could hear was Faith screaming and swearing in the background as she killed the last demons.

Turning to help, Buffy froze seeing what greeted her… James laying slumped against the wall. One hand pressed against his side, trying to stop the flow of blood from where he got stabbed. In his other arm a crying baby, looking unharmed. Faith had gotten a hold of a medical instrument tray and used the metal tray as a guillotine, decapitating one Bringer. She was now straddling the other Bringer that had been carrying her baby and stabbed James. She was beating his head into a bloody pulp with the tray, blood covering the front of her hospital gown. Buffy could tell a good portion of the blood was Faith's. She shook herself out of her shock, moving quickly to help Faith as she collapsed beside the dead Bringer.

 **oOoOo**

It had been a bloodbath…

Buffy walked through the hospital back to Faith's room in a zombie-like state. She knew the scene of the maternity ward with all the dead babies in their beds and incubators would haunt her dreams forever. She didn't know whether to cry or scream as hospital, police and other emergency personnel streamed past her in both directions. The cries of pain and anguish from the families who had lost their children and loved ones mixed with the sirens drifting in from outside. The sounds filled her ears, and she tried to block it out. She caught sight of Giles coming towards her. The look on his face mirrored her emotions. He hugged her tightly in the middle of the hallway as her walls crumbled and tears welled up in her eyes.

"How is James?" Giles asked quietly as he slowly pulled away from Buffy.

"They're stitching him up. The blade didn't catch any major arteries or do any serious damage," Buffy got out between sniffs and wiping her eyes.

"Thirty dead at last count," Giles said in stoic voice. He was finding it hard to keep his emotions in check after witnessing this horrendous attack.

Buffy closed her eyes at hearing the body count, but all she could see were the tiny helpless dead bodies.

"They'll try again," Giles added causing Buffy to focus on the threat rather than the nightmare.

"James and I figured as much. As they were stitching him up, he made some calls and used his pull. He's got two platoons of Marines on route here."

Giles arched his eyes in surprise at this bit of news, "There's already the local and state police here… Aren't Marines a little excessive?"

Buffy glared at Giles in surprise, "Excessive! Dealing with The First, there's no such thing as excessive!" she replied angrily.

Giles sighed and Buffy wanted to change the subject, "How's Faith?" she asked.

"It was complications from the delivery, she's lost a lot of blood. She's sedated and getting a blood transfusion," Giles replied.

"Is Andy here?" Buffy asked.

"Yes, he's with Faith in her room… Rachel is with both of them and Alex."

Buffy let out a tired sigh, "I want to go check on Faith and Alex… I need to see that they're all right."

 **oOoOo**

Rachel stepped out of the hospital into the night lit up by street lights and the flashing lights of police cars and other emergency vehicles. The all too familiar stench of death wafting through the building had pushed her to leave for some fresh air. She'd left Faith, Andy and Alex in their room as she needed to try and clear her mind.

She hadn't seen the slaughter in the maternity ward, but what she saw and the descriptions she'd heard was enough to give her nightmares. The thought of all those helpless babies murdered and Faith's son almost taken by those demons burned in her. When Faith told her the name of her son, it triggered something in her. When she saw the child, she had no doubts about who the father was as she immediately recognized the same family traits in Alex.

Even though the official word was that Paul was dead, she'd always suspected that the Invid Regent didn't just look like a younger Paul by coincidence. She'd theorized that in some strange crazy way Paul and the Regent were the same person or at least a part of him was in there. Even if her theory was wrong, it didn't matter… someone had attacked her family, and she wanted to strike back at them. She'd learned about The First Evil from Paul and Giles. Paul told her that when the war with the Haydonites ended, his plan was to destroy or defeat it.

Standing outside the hospital, she went over every bit of info that Giles and Paul had told her about The First. She considered different ideas and approaches to think of something to combat The First, but always hitting a dead-end. A momentary sense of regret that she had left the military filled her. She sighed knowing if she was still in, she would have access to more resources to deal with this threat. Her thoughts redirected as a small convoy of military vehicles approached the hospital. She watched as the armored personnel carriers fanned out to surround the building and armored Marines disgorged to take up positions to patrol and protect the hospital.

An idea suddenly struck her. A part of her shouted warnings that if she did this, she would open a Pandora's Box that could easily spin out of control. Her hate and anger brushed them aside as her only concern was protecting those people she cared about and striking back at the enemy.

"That bastard wants a war… I'll show him what a war is!" she muttered as she made her way over to talk to the Marines and ask a favor.

 **oOoOo**

Giles paused his nervous pacing as Rachel entered Faith's hospital room, "Where have you been?" he asked worriedly as he moved to her.

"I needed to get some air and gather my thoughts," Rachel replied as she quickly hugged Giles and then moved on to see Andy and Alex.

She took the infant from Andy and rocked Alex gently cooing to him as he slept. Giles studied Rachel. He'd known her long enough and had seen the flash of anger in her eyes. He realized that something was going on. A part of him almost dreaded to ask what she'd done, but he needed to ask the question.

"What did you do?" Giles asked in a quiet voice so as not to wake the baby.

A small predator-like smile grew on Rachel's face as she continued rocking Alex.

Giles felt a sudden chill seeing her expression, "What did you do?" he asked again slightly raising, but then catching his voice.

"Auntie Rachel will make sure that bad old First Evil doesn't bother you… That's right!" Rachel said in a soft cooing voice looking at Alex, but still flashing that predator-like smile.

"Please tell me you did nothing rash?" Giles begged as Buffy and Andy looked on with confusion as they joined the conversation.

Rachel took her eyes off the baby and met the look that Giles was giving her, "All I did was make a call," she said.

"A call? You made a phone call? Who did you call?" Giles asked in an uncertain voice.

Rachel turned her eyes back to the baby, "Yeah, I went and talked to the Marines. I told them who I was, and they were more than glad to let me have access to their communications equipment."

"W-Why? W-What?" Giles sputtered.

"W-Who did you call?" Buffy asked, confused and worried herself at seeing Rachel.

Rachel, not taking her eyes off the sleeping Alex, smiled again. The smile sent chills through the other adults. Her quiet voice seemed to fill the room, "All I did was send a message to someone who I thought should know what happened here. I think… No… I know they'll be responding soon."


	24. Message Received…

**CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR:  
Message Received… **

" _…Much happened in the period after the 'Lampasas Massacre'. The arrival of the Alliance Grand Fleet… The 'Easter Island Incident'… The Regess's ultimatum… The threat of civil war… The Sunnydale Accords… The Resettlement… Kepler-22…_

 _Despite all the pro-Alliance news coverage with promises of rebuilding Earth, influx of new technology, and the economic benefits of a united Earth in the Alliance. There were still many doubters, critics and people fearful of change and aliens. This group included nationalists, xenophobes, isolationists and others that had lost with the old power structure being swept away after liberation and Earth joining the Alliance._

 _It was during this period that the terms 'fake news' and 'alt-facts' became part of the standard lexicon. To stoke fears among the population about the Alliance's 'true' intentions towards humanity, a number of media organizations and commentators used 'alt-facts' to spread 'fake news'. This came to the forefront after the attack and murders in Lampasas where these media organizations blamed the massacre on 'aliens' from Alliance worlds._

 _The 'fake news' and 'alt-facts' of the 'Lampasas Massacre' along with other propaganda played well among the disaffected groups. These groups became the most vocal and visible in their opposition to the Alliance and changes occurring on Earth. It was only after 'The Sunnydale Accords' that it was discovered that the majority of these 'commentators' were paid by or influenced by Wolfram & Hart. The law firm was pushing this PR campaign in a desperate attempt to turn humanity against the Alliance._

 _Everything hung in the balance with millions of Invid mecha backed by a battle-hardened fleet, led by the galaxy's most powerful warship, threatening to wage an apocalyptic war. If it hadn't been for Rupert Giles and General Coulson and their roles in negotiating 'The Sunnydale Accords', one has to wonder what the galaxy would look like today._

 _Despite the known facts about the Regent's personal involvement, there are still a few critics that say the threat posed by The First Evil and other demons was overstated. They argue that the 'overreaction' by the Invid Regent resulted from the unresolved blood feud between The First Evil and Admiral Coleiro. They also argue that what happened at Kepler-22 was a war crime that tarnished the Alliance._

 _Whatever your position and views are on how the Regent reacted, what happened at Kepler-22 is a stark and vivid reminder of what could have happened on Earth…"_

— excerpt from _"Light vs. Darkness: War in the Shadows"_

 **oOoOo**

Lieutenant Isaiah Harden was having another quiet afternoon shift. He tried stifling a yawn, glancing at his monitor screen and then over at Orbital Control's main display screen at the front of the control room.

 _Not a lot of traffic today_ , he thought, noting the icons representing the ships entering and leaving Earth's orbit.

He took a drink of his coffee and stretched, trying to shake off the boredom. When he'd joined up, fantasies of travelling to the far ends of the galaxy and exploring strange new worlds filled his dreams. The mundane reality of being a glorified air-traffic controller, monitoring and directing ships around the planet, muted those dreams. Granted, being stationed on one of the new space stations sitting in high stationary orbit around the planet allowed him to impress a few people. But, it paled when compared to the many ships, he directed on a daily basis, heading for the other planets in the Alliance on the other side of the galaxy.

 _At least it's a lot safer here than down there_ , Isaiah sighed as his thoughts drifted. The horrible massacre at a hospital in Texas filled the news. The main news outlets were quoting the standard "No, comment" from authorities while they were still investigating. This seemed at odds with a growing number of Internet sites posting that non-humans were behind the attack and murders. Isaiah scoffed at such news. He'd talked and worked with many aliens. Other than looking different and coming from across the galaxy these 'people' weren't much different from humans. Still, quite a few articles were showing up in his web news feed, talking about a vast 'alien conspiracy'. He'd also overheard quite a few of the crew discussing the attack and this so-called conspiracy in the station's dining hall.

A voice coming over his headset cut-off any further thoughts about the news, conspiracies, and his life choices, "Lieutenant Harden?"

Isaiah shook off his thoughts, focusing on his job as he keyed his mic. Even though he was _only_ a glorified air-traffic controller, it was still an important job. He had to direct all the ships coming and going from Earth to avoid collisions and accidents.

"Yes, what is it?"

"Uh… I'm not sure, sir. I'm getting some strange readings," replied the confused and worried voice, "It looks like we have a spacefold occurring, b-but I've never seen anything this large."

Harden's eyes widen in shock and alarm at this report. He brought up the information on his monitor and the main display screen. It was eerily quiet in the control room as it became obvious that a massive spacefold was taking place.

 _I-It can't be the H-Haydonites… Their fleet's d-destroyed! They're defeated… They're gone!_ Harden thought, staring at his monitor in disbelief.

A scared and confused voice came over his headset, "S-Sir? W-What do we do?"

The voice snapped Harden out of his paralysis. He pushed the fear down, focusing on his job and what he needed to do, "Inform Defense Command and make sure they're seeing what we're seeing! Check the area where that spacefold point is forming for traffic and warn them to clear that area!" he said, snapping off rapid orders.

He didn't wait for acknowledgements as he tapped commands on his keyboard to bring up more information on his monitor to analyze what was happening.

"Sir! Incoming message from Moon Base ALUCE!"

Harden nodded, keying his headset to take the message, "Orbital-One, here! Lieutenant Harden, speaking!"

There was a pause as Harden listened to the other voice coming from the moon base.

"Confirmed! We're also reading the beginning of a massive spacefold event!" Harden replied.

He quickly cut the channel and opened another channel to the space station, "Battle Stations! Battle Stations! Set station to Condition One Alert! Get the defense grid on-line!"

Another voice cut-off any further commands, "TRANSITION! WE HAVE SPACEFOLD TRANSITION!"

Isaiah stared at the main display screen as it brought up the section of space where the spacefold was occurring. His eyes went wide as icons — indicating ships — appeared out of nowhere.

 _My god_ , he thought as more ships kept appearing.

"Sir! We're getting a scan of the ships!" a voice called out, grabbing Harden's attention.

Isaiah's jaw dropped at hearing the identity of the ships arriving. His eyes continued staring at the main display screen, watching as more and more icons appeared out of nothingness.

 **oOoOo**

 _"…While confused reports are still coming in, the White House and Space Defense Command have yet to release any official statements about what is happening. According to the last reports, the Alliance Grand Fleet was mopping up a small Haydonite force and outpost in the Sargas System. Our latest information puts the fleet size at nearly thirty thousand ships… of which at least twenty-five thousand are Invid Mollusk-Class carriers. Despite repeated inquiries from us, Alliance representatives here on the Earth have yet to respond and have only issued a "No, comment" at this time. The UN Security Council is currently in an emergency session. We have learned that Alliance representatives have been summoned to address and answer questions about why the Grand Fleet is here. We are also getting reports that the Alliance Council on Tirol is an emergency session where Earth's representatives are demanding an explanation for this unfolding situation…"_

Faith and Giles both turned away from the television, giving Rachel the same glare.

"Tell me this isn't your doing?" Giles asked in a restrained voice, shaking his head and squeezing the bridge of his nose.

Rachel met their looks and wasn't going to back down or get apologetic about her decision, "Fight fire with fire, I always say."

"B-But thirty-thousand ships!" Giles said, not believing what Rachel had unleashed on Earth.

"Plus, if my math is correct, at least twelve _million_ Invid fighters and Shock troopers. That's not including the drone fighters and Veritechs in the fleet," Rachel said with a smirk.

Giles paled, trying to absorb the numbers being thrown about and the implications. Finally getting himself under some control, "Rachel… I care for you deeply, b-but t-this!" He let out a resigned sigh, pointing to the TV, "What you did… You've gone too far!"

Giles was going to say more, but Faith spoke up, "Can you give us a moment? I need to speak to Rachel… alone."

Giles looked at Faith, who was holding Alex, and then Rachel. Seeing he wasn't going to get anywhere, he shrugged in defeat and left the room. Faith waited until she heard the door close, indicating Giles had gone outside. She finally spoke.

"What did you do?"

"As I told you… All I did was send a message," Rachel answered.

"You sent a message to _him_? Didn't you?" Faith asked, trying to keep her growing anger in check.

Rachel showed no signs of backing down, "Of course I did! He is Alex's father!"

Hearing your secrets being said aloud was a lot different from thinking them to yourself. Faith's heart pounded faster, her legs suddenly got weak, and the room spun. She quickly steadied herself, staring at Rachel as panicked thoughts raced through her mind, "H-How did you know?" Faith mumbled.

Rachel saw Faith's reaction and a wave of sympathy overcame her. She moved closer, gazing at Alex then meeting Faith's eyes, "You forget that I knew Paul when he was a child… I can see the family resemblance. Plus, Alex… that was his father's name," she said in a soft voice, looking at the baby and smiling.

"He's not Paul! Paul's dead!" Faith said trying to keep her voice and emotions under control.

Rachel gave her another sympathetic look. She wasn't going to argue with the other woman or explain her theories — and her hopes — about the Regent.

A long moment of silence passed before Faith spoke, hesitantly, "D-Did you tell him about the baby?"

"No… All I said was that you were in danger and The First Evil was involved," Rachel whispered, shaking her head.

Faith let out a deep sigh of relief, "T-Thank-you."

"Don't thank me yet. You've got another problem… Besides him," Rachel said with a sigh, nodding to the baby.

"W-What problem?" Faith asked nervously.

"So far, the Alliance has kept how the Invid Regent looks like Paul under wraps. I figure that's all about to go sideways now," Rachel said.

"Yeah, so what's the problem?" Faith asked in a confused voice.

"How long do you think it will be before someone tracks you down and asks for a reaction when they find out the Regent looks like Paul?"

Faith's eyes went wide in shock as the implications hit her.

"And, I bet you never told Andy about you and Paul." Rachel said, shaking her head slowly.

"N-No, I didn't," Faith said, embarrassed at the admission, "He knows I was with someone on the Arcadia Mission. I never told him who, and he never pushed."

"Well, if you don't want your marriage to blow-up, you're better get your story straight!" Rachel said with a sigh, gesturing towards the TV, "Things are about to get more complicated."

 **oOoOo**

Anxiousness pulled at General Coulson as he waited for the green light to disembark his shuttle. For him it was as if an eternity passed by before he could exit his shuttle. Stepping out on to the hanger deck of the SDF-4, he immediately noted the rows of drone fighters being serviced by flight crews. He tried to not show surprise and keep his alarm in check at seeing the drones loaded up with full combat weapon loadouts. An officer coming towards him drew his attention.

"General Coulson," the young Tirolian lieutenant said, coming to a crisp attention and saluting.

"Yes," Coulson replied, returning the salute.

"The Regent is expecting you. He's on the observation deck. If you will follow me, sir," the Tirolian said.

Coulson nodded, following the Lieutenant as he took the lead. It didn't take long to reach the observation deck and ushered into the room. He found the Regent sitting in one of the swivel chairs, his back turned to him, facing the huge observation widow. Coulson could tell that the Regent was staring at the blue and white world hanging in space.

The General waited for the Regent to acknowledge his presence, but finally decided that he'd waited long enough, clearing his throat.

"Yes, General," the Regent said still with his back to Coulson.

"Sir, I'm here on behalf of the White House and the UN Security Council. They all—"

"They all want to know why I'm here with the Grand Fleet and what my intentions are," the Regent said cutting Coulson off.

"Yes, sir! That's the gist of it," Coulson paused, "Sir, why are you here?" he asked in an almost pleading voice.

There was a long pause. When the Regent didn't immediately answer, Coulson was going to speak again, but the Regent spoke first, "General, I'm here because there is a threat to this planet. A cancer… if you will, that is hanging over this planet and its people. I am here to remove it!"

Coulson shuddered at the hard tone in the Regent's voice, "Sir… I'm confused. I'm not aware of any threat to the planet that requires you here! Respectively, sir… You're here without approval and orders! What will you do when the Alliance Council orders you to withdraw?"

The Regent spun his chair to face Coulson. The General saw his expression and shuddered again out of reflex, "I've already explained to the fleet why we are here. I told those that didn't want to follow me they could remain behind with no consequences and with me not thinking any less of them. As you can see… the fleet has made their choice."

Fear passed through the General as the realization of how serious the situation was becoming sank in.

 _My God! With the Grand Fleet backing him, he could do… anything!_

Coulson searched for some way to head off where everything was going, "Sir! You can't go against the Alliance! What will the Regess—"

The Regent cut him off, "I have the full support of the Regess! Actually, she is vehement in her support of this action! She told me to come here at almost the same time I received news of the attack!"

Coulson's stomach dropped at this news. He'd expected it, but to know the Invid were fully behind this made the situation even scarier. A quick thought flashed through the General's mind.

 _This is how Caesar got started..._

With his hackles raised, Coulson had to tread carefully in what he said or did next, "Sir, maybe if we back up… What attack are you talking about?"

The Regent leaned forward and pressed a button on the table in front of him. A display screen on the other wall came alive. The news broadcast was going over — in gruesome detail — about the attack and murders at a hospital. The video showed the stunned and grief-stricken parents being escorted by emergency personnel from the hospital as the news anchor provided a voice-over.

It finally clicked for the General. Like everyone else, the attack had horrified him, but he wasn't involved with the investigation. Local authorities were dealing with the matter, but he knew he would now have to dig deeper into this when he got back down planet-side. He needed to buy time and cool down the situation, so saner heads would prevail.

"Sir, if you let me check into this attack I'm sure I can find a way of dealing with this threat… without having to take extreme measures," Coulson asked.

The Regent gave Coulson a hard glare, "General, you have twenty-four hours to show me something… Then I will take matters into my own hands!"

 **oOoOo**

"Sir… Sir?"

Coulson's eyes snapped open as he realized that he'd fallen asleep. He took a moment to notice that the car had stopped.

"Uh, yes?" he asked tiring to not yawn as he spoke.

"We're here, sir," the driver replied.

It took the General another moment to shake the cobwebs out of his head and remember where and why he was where he was. The last twenty-four hours had been a whirl wind of conference calls, briefings and meetings with what seemed like an unending line of politicians, police and military officials. It was quite the change of pace and scenery, now parked in front of some nondescript house in a small town in Texas. If wasn't for the heavily armed marines patrolling the block around the house, it would have seemed more peaceful.

Any further thoughts of peace and sleep vanished as his phone buzzed. There was the temptation to ignore the phone until his call display told him who was calling. He quickly answered the phone.

"Yes, Mr. President!"

Coulson fought to stifle another yawn as he listened to his Commander-in-Chief.

"Yes, sir… I have no updates on what is happening in the Pacific. I haven't pushed to break the blockade around Easter Island. I think—" Coulson paused as the President interrupted him.

"No, sir. I would advise against trying to break the blockade. We know transports have been evacuating people. We just don't know why."

Coulson paused again, listening, "Yes, sir. For now, we've managed to keep the press in the dark, but I don't know how long that will continue. Uh-huh… Yes, sir. I understand... I know… Goodbye, sir," he said as the conversation ended.

The General took a deep breath to focus his thoughts, again looking towards the house.

 _If she can't talk any sense into him, then we're all screwed_ , he thought, getting out of the car and approaching the house.

Coulson knocked on the door. It didn't take long for a response as an older man opened the door. Coulson tried not to laugh as he saw the reaction on the other man's face as he recognized him.

"G-General Coulson!" Giles stammered out in surprise at this unexpected visitor.

It took Coulson a moment to pull the man's name from his memory, "It's Giles? Isn't it?"

"Yes… Please come in," Giles said as he opened the door to invite the General in.

Another voice greeted Coulson as he stepped into the house, "Hello, sir. What brings you here?"

Coulson recognized the voice and a small smile flashed on his tired face. From the look on Rachel's face, he immediately could tell that she was not happy about him being here.

"Hello, Chief… Looks like retirement is agreeing with you," he said, trying to engage in small talk to smooth over his visit.

Rachel was having none of that, "Yes, sir. I'm enjoying not having to take orders anymore, so I'll repeat my question… What brings you here?"

Coulson let out another tired sigh, "I'm here to see Faith. Is she here?"

"Yeah, I'm here," Faith called out walking into the room, carrying a baby and followed by another man.

"Hello, Faith… I was wondering if I could speak to you… in private," Coulson asked looking at the group of people.

Faith shook her head, "No… whatever you have to say, you can say it in front of everybody here."

Coulson shrugged, he was too tired to argue. He'd also run out of time, "As you've probably heard, the Grand fleet has arrived here..."

He saw the looks and nods of acknowledgement, "What isn't public knowledge is that the Fleet is here because of the attack on the hospital you were in."

The General noted the looks exchanged between Giles, Faith and Rachel. This confirmed his suspicions of where the "news" that had brought the Regent to Earth had come from. He glanced at Rachel and caught the look of defiance in her eyes which caused him to shake his head slowly.

"Get to your point, General!" Faith said as she rocked the baby in her arms.

"You're probably aware," he said glancing towards Rachel, "that the Invid Regent looks exactly like Admiral Coleiro."

As soon as he said the Admiral's name, Coulson noted the change on the other man's face. The man standing next to Faith became slightly agitated, glaring at her. The General could easily see the other man wasn't happy, but Coulson brushed it aside. He had bigger problems to deal with than with one unhappy couple.

"Yeah… I know," Faith said in a quiet voice, glancing awkwardly at Andy.

Luckily, Faith had already told Andy about her relationship with Paul. There had been a few words exchanged, but mostly Andy expressed surprise and shock at finding out his wife being involved with Admiral Paul Coleiro. She'd reassured Andy, and that calmed him, but she'd skipped the part about the Regent looking like her former lover. Now, that little omission was going off like a hand grenade as she saw the change in Andy's expression. She knew it had been a mistake not to tell him, but it had been hard enough just opening up and telling him about her and Paul.

 _I'm going to have to deal with this later_ , she thought reading Andy's facial expressions.

Coulson studied Faith and her husband. He'd only gotten a basic background briefing on her and what she'd been doing since Earth's liberation. On the surface, everything seemed in order, but he was getting a funny feeling that something else was going on.

 _If she knew the Regent looked like the Admiral why hasn't she said anything… or try to see him when he was here?_

Coulson considered asking, but this wasn't the time or place. He made a mental note to have a more detailed check done later.

"So, what do you want?" Faith asked, trying to keep her discomfort and anger in check.

Coulson refocused on the more immediate problem, "We have a problem with the Regent… He's threatening to take action against those that attacked the hospital. He's given me twenty-four hours to deal with it and I've run out of time! I hoping that I can get you to talk to the Regent. Maybe you can convince him to listen to reason and stand down."

The General noted the look of surprise on Faith and an angry frown on her husband's face.

"Why her? What can she do to talk this… this alien?" Andy asked, no longer concealing his anger.

Coulson could see that his idea of using Faith and Paul's relationship against the Regent wasn't going over well with Faith's husband. Despite the obvious tension between the couple, he considered telling the group his suspicions about the Regent and Admiral Coleiro.

Fortunately, Giles spoke up, saving him from having to inflame the domestic situation further, "Surely, the Alliance will order him to stand down?"

Rachel's snort of derision caused Coulson to shake his head wearily, "The Alliance has issued orders for the Regent and the Grand Fleet to return to Tirol. They have refused…" he said.

"W-What is he going to do?" Giles asked, looking in shock as he grasped what was happening.

"That's the problem! We don't know what he and the fleet will do! From the information I have, it was the 'Harbingers of Death' that attacked the hospital, yes?" Coulson said.

"Those bastards tried to take my baby!" Faith angrily spat out.

Coulson nodded, "I know. My background info on these 'Bringers' has them as servants for The First Evil."

"Yes, they act as the high priests and foot soldiers for The First," Giles said, warming up to discussing familiar subjects. The Watcher paused as he put together what the General had said with what he knew about the Regent and The First Evil.

"You're thinking the Regent will hit back at The First?" Giles asked.

"Yes, I expect the Regent to retaliate and try to hit The First, but how do you hit back at something that you can't kill?" Coulson asked, shrugging.

A worried Giles tried putting himself in the Regent's shoes to figure out what his plan was, "General is there anything else that you haven't told us?"

Coulson sighed, "We've kept this quiet, but a huge Invid force has landed in the Pacific," he said seeing the reactions from the group.

"W-What are they doing?" Giles asked trying to get over his shock at this news.

"So far there's been no shooting… They've setup a blockade around Easter Island. Nothing getting in or out. We've had reports of Marines and Invid Shock Troopers landing on the island and evacuating the inhabitants."

Giles's jaw dropped, "Y-You said Easter Island?"

The look on Giles's face started Coulson's stomach churning, "Why? What's so important about Easter Island?"

"There's a Hellmouth on Easter Island… You said they were evacuating the inhabitants…" Giles replied quietly.

Coulson's eyes went wide in shock as Giles's statement registered in his tired mind.

 _Jesus! He wouldn't… Hell, what am I thinking… of course he would do something like that!_ Coulson thought reaching for his cell phone.

The phone was barely in his hand when it buzzed. A sense of foreboding overwhelmed him seeing the name on the call display. A part of him didn't want to answer it, but he did anyway.

"Coulson, here."

The group watched as the General listened to his phone. The call didn't last long, but it was long enough for the group to become worried as they saw the change in the General's face.

"Yes, sir. I understand. Thank you, sir," Coulson said ending the call.

"What happened?" Giles asked, already bracing himself for bad news.

Coulson's tiredness along with the news he'd just received weighed on him. He took a deep breath to compose himself and exhaled. His voice was quiet, but it sounded as if he was shouting in the silent room, "Ten minutes ago, the SDF-4 moved into a lower orbit. She's fired several salvos from her main gun… Easter Island is gone."


	25. Housewarming

**CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE:  
Housewarming **

" _…Despite what happened on Kepler-22, 'The Sunnydale Accords' are seen as an example of realpolitik in action. Some are still surprised that The First Evil and the other demons agreed to the accords, much less abided by the terms. The Regent destroying Easter Island and his apparent willingness to destroy the remaining Hellmouths at any cost is considered as the main motivating influence behind their decision._

 _The crux of the agreement was this… The First Evil, all demons, vampires, servants, slaves, and those wanting to go would be granted safe passage and resettlement on Kepler-22. They would have full rein over the planet and system to do as they wish with no interference from the Alliance. There is still talk and rumors surrounding the accords and about 'secret protocols' included, but no one involved with the negotiations has ever publicly confirmed any of this._

 _For those that remained behind, they would be monitored, governed, prosecuted (as required), and punished by the Alliance if they stepped out of line. As a part of the accords, laws and guidelines governing the use and practice of magic were established. The Alliance would oversee with enforcement and implementing the strict and severe penalties (up to and including summary execution) for those that broke them._

 _Every detail and contingency was covered by the accords… The Invid Regess's public statement endorsing the accords set a lot of minds at ease. Considering the creatures and magic involved, the resettlement went smoothly. There were a few minor 'incidents' {_ see Madagascar Event _} that were quickly — and ruthlessly — dealt with. What nobody expected was the depth of the Regent's hate and the bad blood between him and The First Evil…"_

— excerpt from _"Light vs. Darkness: War in the Shadows"_

 _"I don't know what the hell you are, but I swear I will make it my mission in life to find a way to kill you… I will personally end you."_

— Paul Coleiro to The First Evil

 **oOoOo**

The council chambers were in an uproar. Voices were shouting over each other. Some Alliance representatives, staff and military officials huddled together in conversation, the worry and fear on their faces betraying the seriousness of their talks. At the center of this storm was Ambassador Tashe. Surrounded by the uproar, the Invid only showed a calm sense of purpose.

"Everyone, I need calm! Please, everyone take their seats, so we can get back to discussing the issue at hand!"

All eyes went to the Perytonian ambassador who was chairing this meeting. It took a moment, but finally everyone took their seats as a small measure of calm returned, but all eyes were on the Invid.

Despite the tense situation, the Perytonian exhibited a controlled and calm demeanor, "Ambassador Tashe, the Alliance is concerned and shocked by the events that have taken place on Earth. We… the council are asking for the Regess to order the Regent to follow the Alliance's orders and withdraw the Grand Fleet from Earth. I think I speak for every other Alliance member when saying we are anxious over the Regent's failure to follow the Alliance's command authority!"

Though everyone's focus was on Earth and the Regent's actions, there was an unsettling undercurrent of tension and fear among those gathered in the council chambers. The situation was bad enough with the Regent and those Invid with him not obeying orders. That the rest of the Grand Fleet was following him as well only made the situation more serious and troubling for the Alliance.

There had been surprise by the Grand Fleet's loyalty to the Regent. Some people conjectured that the Regent looking like Admiral Coleiro was the primary motivation for those in the fleet. While that may have played an important part, others knew it wasn't the only reason for the fleet following the Regent.

Admiral Coleiro had always cast a huge shadow over the Alliance. Before his demise, there wasn't a single person in the Alliance Navy or Marines that wouldn't have followed him to hell and back. Those more familiar and knowledgeable knew that, during the final campaign against the Haydonites, the Regent's personality and behavior came to mirror the Admiral's. His decisions and actions quickly earned the respect and loyalty from those serving under him along with the rest of the fleet. This popularity and unswerving loyalty and devotion weren't an issue while the Alliance was at war with the Haydonites. Now was a different issue…

The Regent's actions along with his subsequent refusal to acknowledge and obey the council's orders surprised and shocked them. Despite their attempts to keep information about the Regent and what he was doing limited, news still leaked out. The council was now receiving troubling reports that talk about the Regent and the Grand Fleet was spreading through the rest of the fleet and other military units. These disturbing reports indicated that many were debating about whether to join with the Grand Fleet or uphold and enforce the council's orders. The spectre of the Alliance fragmenting along with the potential for conflict hung over everyone now gathered in the council chamber.

 _We have to keep this from spreading and getting worse_ , the Perytonian thought, studying the Invid Ambassador.

If the Alliance was to survive and thrive, each race had to work together and follow the chain of command along with obeying the orders given. It wasn't good for the long-term survival of the Alliance, if commanders made up their own orders, picking which orders they would or wouldn't follow. Rumors were now floating around that the Regent was planning to move against the council after dealing with Earth, only increasing the unpalatable sense of fear in everyone. Everyone recognized that with the Invid and the support of the fleet, the Regent could quickly seize power. He could dispose of the council and install himself to a supreme position of power over all the planets in the Alliance.

The Perytonian Ambassador knew the history of the alternate universe where the Arcadia and Admiral Coleiro had come from. He prayed that the history from that alternate universe would not repeat as a worrying name and a set of words danced in his thoughts.

 _T.R. Edwards… Robotech Master…_

The terse communique from the Regent for his reasons for going to Earth didn't help the situation. Now, the fear of a potential military mutiny and takeover hung over the council. The Perytonian Ambassador had received a briefing on the hospital attack and the people involved. At a basic level he could understand and even sympathize with the Regent.

 _Maybe if he had taken a different approach, we might have been able to discuss and found another way to deal with this "threat",_ he thought, studying Ambassador Tashe.

He resigned himself to the situation as they were way past that point now. Whatever the threat on Earth was… it now paled with what they faced because of the Regent's rash decisions and actions. Shouts from the human ambassador interrupted his thoughts.

"We demand the immediate removal of the Regent from command of the Grand Fleet and the fleet's recall!"

The Perytonian ambassador sighed as he acknowledged the human, "Ambassador… we are trying to find a solution—"

"That… That… _alien_ has fired on our planet and destroyed an entire island!" the human ambassador angrily spat out while glaring at the Invid ambassador.

The Perytonian took a deep breath to relax. Since Earth's liberation and her full addition/participation into the Alliance, there had been an enormous amount of changes to the human diplomatic staff… in both quantity and quality.

Some of the humans were having a difficult time adjusting to negotiating as a single planetary entity on a galactic scale. In the case of the new human ambassador, he was having some problems in his dealings with the other races of the Alliance. Some of the comments he made were at inopportune times, but the other races had been gracious in allowing the new ambassador in finding his feet in his new role. Unfortunately, the human ambassador's xenophobic outburst was coming at the wrong time and place.

"MR. AMBASSADOR!" the Perytonian shouted causing everyone to stop what they were doing. Silence descended on the council room as the gathered group had never seen the Perytonian Ambassador shout before. He had always been one of cool and measured calmness in the face adversity. That he looked like a demon caused several humans to flinch out of reflex.

The Perytonian paused, looking around the council chambers and seeing the looks he was getting from his unexpected outburst. He took a deep breath to bring himself back under control, thinking out the words he needed to use to keep the situation from getting worse.

"Mr. Ambassador, the council is fully aware of the… _damage_ … inflicted on your planet by the Regent and the Grand Fleet. From the reports we have received, it turns out that other than the island and its local flora and fauna, all inhabitants were _safely_ evacuated before the island's destruction. Is that not correct?"

"Well, yes. That is true, but—" the human admitted grudgingly, scowling slightly.

The Perytonian cut off the human, "I would like to hear from Ambassador Tashe on this matter," he said turning toward the Invid representative.

All eyes turned towards Tashe. No one could tell what the Invid was thinking as her expression was unreadable. Everyone in the room held their breath as she stood up to address the council.

"Thank you, Ambassador Madrelan," Tashe said nodding to the Perytonian in acknowledgement.

"The Regess has asked me to pass along several important messages to the council. First, the Regess sends her regrets for the action taken by the Regent. She wishes she could explain to the council why this action was necessary. All we can say is that what is happening on Earth is of vital importance to the Invid…"

Tashe's words barely left her mouth before rumblings occurred among the council, staff and onlookers.

"Ambassador Tashe, maybe if you could tell us… explain to us why? Maybe we can assist and defuse this situation from getting worse?" Madrelan pleaded as the discontent and rumblings in the room increased.

Tashe gazed around the room, seeing a mix of emotions directed at her. She found herself torn because the Regess hadn't shared the reasons it was so important for the Regent to go to Earth. The Regess only communicated to her the message she had to deliver to the council and its importance. She pushed her doubts down because it was important and her duty to deliver the other part of the Regess's message.

"This brings us to the other message that the Regess wanted me to deliver here. She has expressed her full support for the Regent and his actions in this matter. If the Alliance tries to interfere or stop the Regent, then the Invid will have no choice but to withdraw from the Alliance…"

Tashe continued after letting her words sink in, "Any hostile action taken against the Regent will be considered an act of war against _all_ Invid… and we _will_ respond."

 **oOoOo**

Giles knew it was bad news from the expressions on the faces of General Coulson and James as they entered the conference room. He, along with Rachel, had gone with the General to Lampasas. The General had taken over an office building to use as a temporary command post. Giles was pleasantly surprised to find James and Buffy waiting for them at the command post.

From looking at the General, Giles glanced over at Rachel. The unrepentant expression was still in her face and eyes. Despite the seriousness of the situation, he had to admit that if he'd been in Rachel's shoes he would have probably done the same thing. Giles recalled discussing the Hellmouth and The First Evil with Paul just after the Arcadia had arrived. Back then, Paul wanted to drop Reflex warheads on the Hellmouth. Now… the Regent had just destroyed a Hellmouth — along with a whole island — using the firepower of one ship.

"How bad is it, General?" Giles asked, hesitantly not knowing if he wanted to hear.

Coulson, looking exhausted, slumped into a chair joining the group at the conference table. James took a seat next to Buffy, looking not much better.

The General's sigh wasn't a good sign, "The Invid have drawn a line and threatened to go to war if anyone gets in their way."

"Oh, dear…" was all that Giles could think of to say, getting strange looks from the others at the table.

Coulson suppressed the urge to laugh at the other man's comment, _Typical British understatement when facing a potential apocalypse…_

"Well, it gets even worse," Coulson said with another sigh, "Word of the Regent's 'crusade' against The First Evil has gotten out. Rumors are flying around that other fleet units are thinking of joining him… against orders!"

"You're joking?" Buffy said shaking her head in disbelief, "Isn't that called… um?"

"Mutiny… that's the word you're looking for," James said also shaking his head.

"If this was somewhere else… a different planet. Hell, I would be right beside him, cheering him on, but this is Earth!" Coulson paused to take a deep breath.

"I've got Washington and the UN Security Council screaming at me. Some are demanding that we open fire on the SDF-4 to take out the Regent before he destroys something else!"

"You did remind them about all those Invid carriers and mecha that would descend like the wrath of God if they did something that stupid?" Rachel said incredulously.

"So far, saner heads are prevailing, but if the Regent attacks again…" Coulson replied, eyeing Giles, "You're the expert. How many Hellmouths are we dealing with and where are they?"

Giles was ready for the question. After Easter Island's destruction, he'd gone through the information he had on the Hellmouths to get back up to speed. What he'd dug up would not go over well.

"Well, there is the Hellmouth in Sunnydale. The last information I have is that it has been quiet," Giles said.

"From the reports I have, they report only some minimal activity around it when Kinsey was in power, but like you said… quiet," Coulson added.

"There was the Hellmouth in Cleveland—" Giles started to say.

Buffy jumped in, "We destroyed that one!" she said, the satisfaction evident in her voice.

"Yes, quite," Giles added as he tried to figure out how to break the bad news to the General.

Coulson could read that Giles was trying to cushion the bow, "Just rip the band-aid off… it ain't going to change the result!"

Giles let out another sigh, "From my sources, there are five Hellmouths that we know about…" Coulson showed surprise at hearing how many there were.

"There are the three aforementioned ones… Plus one in Los Angeles and another one in Providence, Rhode Island…" Giles paused.

"Sweet Jesus…" Coulson whispered, imagining the White House's reaction when he told them that LA was now at risk.

Giles held back telling the General about the Deeper Well. This wasn't the time to try explaining about a place that ran straight through the planet and was the burial ground for the Old Ones — ancient and powerful demons. The Hellmouths being attacked was bad enough. Giles tried not to think what would happen to the planet if the Regent attacked the Deeper Well.

General Coulson's quiet voice caught everyone off guard, "I need everyone to clear the room… except for Chief Larson. I need to speak to her alone."

As Giles got up to leave, he looked to Rachel. Meeting her eyes, he tried to get some indication of what the General wanted her for. He saw a perfect poker-face that gave nothing away as he and the others left the conference room.

"Okay, Chief," Coulson said meeting eyes with Rachel.

"I'm no longer in the military…"

"Enough of the bull crap, Chief! Being a General gives me all sorts of privileges. If I wanted too, I could have you back in uniform and court martial your ass so fast it would make your head spin! Do you hear me?"

Rachel let out a deep sigh, "Crystal, sir."

Coulson sat back in his chair, a look of satisfaction on his face, "Now, the strange thing is when I told Faith about the Regent, she wasn't surprised. I figured that's because you probably told her. Then I start thinking and wondering why she hasn't asked about or made any attempt to see him…"

"You shouldn't think too much… Sir," Rachel said, trying to not betray anything.

Coulson ignored the barb. He knew he was on the right track as he picked up the subtle changes in Rachel's body language and the growing anxiety in her voice.

"So, I decided to have my people do some digging… You'll never guess what they found," Coulson said, leaning into the table.

Rachel was trying to keep herself from squirming in her chair, "I have no idea what you're fishing for, sir," she said in quiet, calm voice.

"Funny thing, Chief… I've got a nice clear picture of you and Faith from a groundside surveillance camera heading for a shuttle going up to the Arcadia…"

Rachel tried to keep her alarm and panic in check as Coulson continued on.

"Yet, all the shuttle logs only show you arriving on the Arcadia with equipment and another equipment transfer… authorized by you, going back down to the planet several hours later. Now tell me what the hell is going on?"

Rachel let out a defeated sigh. All she could do now was to try and minimize the damage, "You know the dates when all this took place?" she said in a quiet voice.

Coulson was happy that he'd gotten Rachel to confess, but he was now a little confused by her statement, "Yeah… I saw the dates. That was just over nine months ago. What does that—"

The tiredness hanging over Coulson disappeared as it all suddenly became clear, "My God! You mean…?" he said in a hushed voice.

Rachel nodded as she found herself afraid to say the words aloud. They both sat there staring at each other for what seemed like an eternity. Coulson finally broke the silence, "Does he know?" he asked in a quiet voice.

Rachel snorted, rolling her eyes, "Hell, no… and if you don't want things to get worse, you won't tell anyone about this!"

She saw the confusion on the General's face, "You were friends with Paul. Let's not kid ourselves about the Regent. Imagine how Paul would have reacted with The First going after Faith and-and…" she said as her voice trailed off.

Coulson's eye went wide, and he shuddered at the thought of how Paul would have reacted. He realized that this was restrained compared to what the Regent _could_ be doing.

Coulson slumped back in his chair. With a deep exhale, he gave Rachel a serious look, "Okay, this… _information_ never leaves this room. That still leaves us with an angry Invid in orbit with a helluva lot of firepower at his disposal. So, what do we do now?"

"We try to find a way to get rid of The First Evil, before this gets worse. If we can't, then we talk to _him_ and try to get him to see reason. If that doesn't work, we get Faith to talk to him," Rachel said with a shrug.

"And if all that fails?" Coulson asked.

"Well, hopefully the fortunes of war will favor us, General," Rachel replied grimly.

 **oOoOo**

Giles paced nervously around the small green space next to the building that General Coulson was using as a temporary headquarters. His mind was a whirlwind as his thoughts bounced from Hellmouths, to Rachel, to Faith and Alex, to The First Evil, to the Regent and back again. The suspicion that Rachel was holding back something filled him. He loved Rachel, but he needed to know what she was holding back. He hoped that whatever it was wouldn't break their relationship.

"Hello, Rupert."

Giles's blood froze at the woman's voice. He immediately recognized her voice even though she hadn't been alive in over a decade. He quickly closed and opened his eyes, taking a deep breath, before turning to face the woman behind him. His heart beat faster as he looked at Jenny Calendar. She looked exactly the same as she had before being killed by Angelus. For a brief moment, Giles wanted to believe it was her, but his training reasserted itself as the rational part of him realized who this was in front of him.

"What do you want?" Giles asked in a cold hard voice.

The image of Jenny flashed Giles a twisted smirk at seeing how she had gotten to him, "Is that any way to greet an old girlfriend? I mean not even a hug or a kiss on the cheek. I would've thought I would at least rate a simple hello?"

"You're not her, so say what you came here to say and leave!" Giles said, anger and hate filling his voice," suddenly a small smirk formed on his face.

"What's so funny?" The First asked, curiously studying the Watcher.

"Oh, I'm just thinking of when the Regent destroys the next Hellmouth," Giles replied, his smirk getting bigger.

The smirk on Jenny's face vanished as her face took on a harder appearance which seemed out of place on her to Giles, "I'm here because of him. We have a problem."

This was the last thing Giles expected to hear, "I think you're the one with the problem," he said reveling in the creature's obvious discomfort.

"No…" The First Evil said, shaking its head, "We both have a major problem…"

 **oOoOo**

Coulson had his eyes closed and squeezing the bridge of his nose listening to Giles repeat the conversation he'd had with The First Evil.

 _When it rains it freaking pours!_ Coulson thought trying to keep his growing headache at bay. It took him a moment to realize that Giles had finished speaking. Coulson slowly opened his eyes, looking at the people gathered around the conference table.

"So, what you're telling me is that The First Evil wants to stop fighting if the Regent stops destroying the Hellmouths?" Coulson said, his shock and surprise obvious.

"Yes… I found it hard to believe it myself," Giles replied.

"And you believe… _it_ … and what it told you about this Deeper Well?" Coulson asked, shaking his head.

The General was upset to find out about the Deeper Well and that Giles had been holding out on this information. That there was a hole running through the planet and it was the cemetery for ancient demons sounded outright crazy.

"The magic and power that emanates from the Hellmouths are powerful. If they are all destroyed, the magic holding the Old Ones in place will weaken. Some of them may wake and rise to the surface. The results for the planet and humanity would be calamitous," Giles said grimly.

"So, what you're saying is that The First Evil wants to have a ceasefire?" James said in an incredulous voice.

Before Giles could reply, Rachel spat out, "Bullshit! How can we believe, let alone trust that bastard to abide by any agreement!"

"I'm going to have to agree with the Chief on this one," Coulson said with a sigh, "There's no way to go back to the status quo. I don't see the Regent going for this idea either."

A contemplative expression crossed Giles's face, "I've seen that look before… you've got an idea, don't you?" Buffy said, studying Giles.

"I might have the beginnings of one, but we need time… First, we need to stop the Regent from destroying anymore Hellmouths," he replied.

 **oOoOo**

Coulson was thankful that he'd been able to grab a quick nap on the shuttle ride up to the SDF-4. He'd originally planned to present Giles's proposal via video conference. That all changed when the Regent demanded the evacuation of Los Angeles…

The situation was spiraling out of control as the Regent set a deadline for the evacuation, so he could destroy the Hellmouth there. Coulson had received a briefing for a surprise first strike to hit the SDF-4 just as the deadline to evacuate Los Angeles expired. The General knew any attempt to take out the SDF-4 was fraught with risk and the high potential for failure. When asked for his input on the strike plan, he used the opportunity to present Giles's idea as an alternate plan to defuse and resolve the situation.

To say the proposal met with disbelief and surprise was an understatement. He finally got the White House's and the UN Security Council's support. It only took painting a picture of an apocalyptic war being waged across the planet that would kill billions to get their support for this proposal. There were still many details and problems with Giles's idea that needed to be resolved, but the immediate problem was getting the Regent to halt his attacks.

The problem with this plan was this a one-shot deal. There was no fallback plan if the Regent didn't accept the proposal. Coulson worked on framing how he would present this idea and arguments as he made his way to the SDF-4's observation deck to meet with the Regent. Upon entering the observation deck, the Regent's back greeted Coulson. The Regent stood looking out the observation window at the planet below.

"What is it you want to talk about, General?" the Regent asked while gazing at the planet and the ships in station around the SDF-4.

"Sir…" Coulson took a deep breath before continuing, "I'm here to ask you to not destroy the Hellmouth in Los Angeles… or any more Hellmouths."

Coulson backed up as the Regent spun to face him, "General… you're only here as a courtesy. I'm aware of the plans to try to take out the SDF-4. Do you think you can stop me? With one thought, I can summon thousands of more carriers here! I _will_ purge the planet of this evil!"

"Sir… please! If you'll just listen… we have an idea that will bring peace," Coulson pleaded.

"PEACE? YOU WANT TO HAVE PEACE WITH THAT-THAT THING AND WHAT IT REPRESENTS!" the Regent replied angrily.

"Sir…" Coulson pleaded seeing the Regent's anger explode.

"THERE WILL BE NO PEACE! I DIDN'T SACRIFICE EVERYTHING JUST TO LEAVE FA— EARTH IN DANGER!"

Coulson blinked as he picked up on the Regent's slip of the tongue. He knew the opening he could exploit, but he had to tread carefully, because if he said the wrong thing or let what he knew slip out…

He spoke in a quiet firm voice, "Sir, if you continue destroying the Hellmouths you will put the whole planet at risk. Billions will die, including Faith… and her child."

The General saw the shock pass over the Regent's face as his words registered, "C-Child? You said Faith has a c-child?"

Coulson took a deep breath, keeping his best poker-face in place, "Yes, sir. Faith and her husband have a child. The hospital attacked was the one she gave birth in."

He hated that he couldn't tell the Regent the truth as he saw the Regent's shock turn to defeat and pain as the news hit him. Unfortunately, the reality and seriousness of the situation required it. Coulson knew for this plan to work the Regent couldn't know he was the father of Faith's child.

The pain of losing Faith forever along with the sacrifices he'd made and the cost he'd paid to protect her stabbed the Regent. Memories of what 'could have been' taunted him as the anger that brought him to Earth drained away. The hate he carried for The First was still there, like an old festering wound. That he could be in any way responsible for her and her child's death caused him to pause.

In that moment as his anger drained away, the Regess's thoughts touched his mind, _Listen to what he has to say…_

The Regent couldn't look the General in the eyes as he released a defeated sigh, "Go ahead, General. You may present your proposal," he said in a quiet pain-filled voice.

 **oOoOo**

The Regent stood on the observation deck of the SDF-4 looking at Kepler-22, hanging in the distance against the blackness of space. Even from this distance, the blue-green world looked similar to Earth in size and that it also supported life. He still felt the pressure and stress from the long months of hard negotiations that had resulted in an agreement that was being referred to as 'The Sunnydale Accords'.

 _It's almost over_ , he thought, tiredly. The SDF-4 was overseeing the last wave of the transport ships arriving in system to land on Kepler-22. Only an hour earlier, he'd received confirmation that the transports had unloaded their passengers and supplies on the planet's surface.

"That's a really nice world," a voice said from behind him, catching him by surprise.

The Regent tensed up as he recognized the voice. Turning, the image of T.R. Edwards greeted him with a smile. The Regent knew The First was trying to goad him by using this image of a person from his memory he hated.

"You couldn't pick a better person to use," the Regent said, not hiding the hate and disgust in his voice.

The First smiled, "I thought this would be appropriate, now that I'm going to have my own world to do with as I want…"

"Yes… you got what you wanted."

"Hey, don't look so glum… Everyone got what they wanted… You got to save the Earth… again. The Deeper Well is sealed and what I hear, you've mined the hell… pardon the pun… out of it with Reflex warheads. No one will be entering or leaving that place. All the demons and I get to have our own world to turn into our own paradise. Hell, even Faith wins... Well, her husband is the big winner. He doesn't have to worry about her being a Slayer anymore and gets to live a long, happy and healthy life with her. I'm sure with all that free time she'll be pushing out some more squealing bastards soon. She could never keep her legs closed, if you know what I mean," The First said with a sneer as it gleefully took a dig at the Regent.

The Regent tried to show no emotions at the mention of Faith, "So, you're satisfied with this planet and everything that's in place? You'll uphold and abide by the letter of the accords?"

The image of Edwards smirked again, "Of course… My negotiators and lawyers have gone over the accords with a fine-tooth comb. We're happy with it… though I'm still surprised that you agreed to the additional protocols?"

"I have no more reasons to set foot on Earth anymore, so it doesn't mean much that I swear never to return there…"

"You know why I did that, don't you?" The First said as the smirk grew into an evil smile.

"You just wanted to hurt me some more," the Regent replied in a quiet voice

Edwards's image snorted, "You're pretty quick in the uptake… Well, I guess I should be heading down to the new homestead. I hear there are some nice celebrations with human sacrifices planned."

"Before you leave, I want to show you something," the Regent said in a quiet voice.

The First snorted again, "Tell me you're not going to get all weepy now."

"No… I once swore that I would end you… You said you wanted to hurt me. Now, I want to return the favor," the Regent said still talking in a quiet voice.

The smile on the image of T.R. Edwards faded, "Whoa, boy! You better watch what you say or do! We have a deal! You go breaking the accords there will be literally hell to pay!"

Now it was the turn for the Regent to smile, "Oh, your lawyers and negotiators were most efficient. The language they used to ensure the Alliance guarantee the resettlement and non-interference of all demons, vampires, servants, etcetera on Kepler-22 was quite specific."

"That's right! The Alliance signed the accords in good faith! You have to abide by the terms!"

"Oh, the Alliance will honor and maintain its part of the accords… On the other hand, I or more specifically I should say, _we_ do not…"

The Regent enjoyed seeing the confusion spread across the image of Edwards, "What are you talking about?"

The Regent's smile suddenly took on a more sinister tone, "Fifteen minutes ago, I stepped down as commander of the Grand Fleet. As of ten minutes ago… the Invid have formally withdrawn from the Alliance. The Invid are no longer bound by any agreements or accords signed by the Alliance…"

The shock crossing Edwards's face was deeply satisfying for the Regent, "Y-You can't! You can't do this!" The First shouted out, his voice becoming shrill in desperate panic.

"Unfortunately… for you, there was nothing in the accords that covered the withdrawal of any member of the Alliance and stopping them from what I am about to do…"

The First was about to reply, but the observation window caught its attention. Three enormous, strange-looking ships — looking like giant mushrooms — defolded into normal space. The First stared at the ships as they headed towards the planet, "W-What are those?" it asked.

"Just some souvenirs we captured from the Haydonites when we took their home system… They're called Neutron-S missiles. Don't worry, we only kept these three and gave the others to the Alliance," the Regent replied, his voice filled with hate-filled glee.

The First was helpless as the huge ships moved closer towards the planet. The fronts of the mushroom-shaped ships detached, plummeting towards the planet. Within moments a new sun appeared where the planet had been. The satisfaction was obvious on the Regent's face as the shock waves from the missile detonations reached out, shaking the SDF-4. The ship easily rode out the blast wave.

A long moment past before the Regent spoke, "I know I can't kill you. You've existed since the beginning of everything…"

He paused, savoring the moment, "I also know with the magic used to transfer your essence to this planet, you can't leave or project yourself outside this star system."

The Regent noted the hatred on Edwards's face which only pleased him more and made the moment that more satisfying. The Regent had no further interest in dealing with The First Evil, "It looks like our business here is finished," he said, turning to leave.

"Welcome to your new home…" he said as he left the observation deck.


	26. She sings to me

**CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX:  
She sings to me… **

" _…The aftershocks of what happened at Kepler-22 shook the foundations of the Alliance. The Invid became more inward looking and isolated from the other races after leaving the Alliance. Despite this turn towards isolationism, they still maintained limited diplomatic relations with the Alliance. More importantly, they still continued to provide the Flower of Life which was necessary for production of Protoculture._

 _As a part of this Invid turn towards isolation, the Regent retired to Optera. He withdrew into seclusion after taking full responsibility for Kepler-22 along with the insubordination and refusal to obey Alliance orders. He had done that to protect the non-Invid personnel among the Grand Fleet from any repercussions for what happened in the Sol System. There were some on the council that wanted the Regent to be held accountable for his actions. This was quickly — and quietly — dropped when the Regess hinted that access to the Flower of Life would be impacted if the Alliance continued to pursue this matter._

 _On Earth, 'The Sunnydale Accords' revealed the truth of demons and magic to the humanity. This was a time of questions and doubts, but the after effects weren't as bad as it could have been now that the demonic threat was greatly reduced._

 _Slowly over time, things returned to normal and humanity continued on. This was a time of expansion and exploration as space travel across the galaxy was now in humanity's grasp. New outposts and colonies grew, both in the solar system and other star systems. Access to Protoculture propelled giant strides and advances in science. The world was changing as the realization became apparent that humanity needed to grow up. Even those demons that were non-threatening/friendly were able to join society as humanity got more exposure to alien races and cultures. For those that broke the law… retribution was swift and merciless._

 _One group that was probably most impacted by the accords and the ensuing peace, were the young women that were Slayers. New laws now governed and restricted what they used to be 'called' to do. The roles and functions they used to perform were now executed by special units under Alliance command and control. Despite the accords and the restrictions placed upon Slayers, they were still highly sought after for their skills and strengths for recruitment into Alliance military forces. All those that served became highly decorated soldiers with distinguished service records. It should be noted that not all Slayers rushed to join the military, some had different priorities…"_

— excerpt from _"Light vs. Darkness: War in the Shadows"_

 **oOoOo**

"Faith! Phone call!"

Faith looked over to the reception desk. Normally she wouldn't take calls while conducting her class, but she saw the urgent expression on the receptionist's face. She nodded to acknowledge she'd heard her while wondering what was going on. Turning back to face the group of people she was instructing, "Okay, everybody... Take five, I'll be right back."

She tried not to laugh seeing the looks of relief on her students' faces as she headed over to the reception desk. Even though she was a brutal taskmaster for the advanced self-defense class she taught, there was no shortage of people wanting to sign up for her class. She was glad to have her job. It had taken her a couple of years to find a job she liked doing and paid the bills. Normally, one couldn't get by on just teaching self-defense classes. She was fortunate as the studio got a lot of customers from the local Alliance base that her classes were always in high demand.

Over the last couple of years, she'd built up her reputation that most of her classes were now comprised of military personnel. The constant training and exercise, along with being a Slayer kept her figure lean and in shape. As a result, there always seemed at least one person in one of her classes looking for a quick hookup or a relationship with her. They always tried to impress her by showing off their fighting skills. She always got a kick out of showing them the errors of their ways.

Despite her curiosity being piqued a few times, she had enough life experience now, to acknowledge that relationships and her always ended badly. Besides, she had an important man in her life that took all her free time. Her life was busy enough she wasn't interested in any more relationships or hookups along with the ensuing complications and messy breakups.

"Line two. It's your son's pre-school," the receptionist said as Faith got to the desk.

A worrying thought past through Faith as she quickly picked up the phone, "Hello…? Yeah, this is Alex's mom…"

Faith listened to the person, letting out a sigh of relief when she found out that the call wasn't to tell her that something had happened to her son. The relief quickly changed back to anxiety when the caller told her that her son's pre-school wanted to meet with her to discuss her son.

"Yes, I can meet with you today… Yeah, three-thirty… I'll be there, thanks."

Faith let out a deep sigh, shaking her head slowly as she put down the phone.

"What has that boy done now?" she mumbled.

 **oOoOo**

Faith sat in the pre-school administrator's office, trying not to squirm in her chair waiting for the school's administrator to return. Sitting there brought back not-so fond memories of the times she'd spent in the school office, when she'd shown up for school.

She looked at the boy with shaggy dark hair sitting next to her and let out a deep sigh which caused him to look up at his mom. A smile quickly formed on the boy's face, which immediately melted Faith's heart. She saw the dark eyes that twinkled with intelligence and shook her head as a smile came to her face.

 _This one's going to be a charmer_ , she thought, reaching over to brush the long shaggy hair out of his eyes.

"You need a haircut."

"I like it long," Alex said still smiling.

Faith still found it hard to believe how sometimes Alex seemed to act older than his age. She tried not to dwell on the reasons her son was this way. For all intents and purposes her son was a happy and healthy six-year-old.

She was about to interrogate Alex over being called to the school when the door opened and two women entered. Besides the school's administrator Faith recognized the other lady as Alex's teacher, she was holding a pile of papers in her hands.

"Thank you for coming in on such short notice, Ms. Lehane," the administrator said as she took her seat on the other side of the desk. As Alex's teacher stood beside the administrator's desk, Faith's instincts were sending her warning bells and she went into defensive mode.

"What did Alex do?" she asked.

Her defensive instincts ratcheted up as she saw uncomfortable glances exchanged between the women, "Uh, first off we want to say what a delight Alex is. He is a bright and hardworking student..." the administrator started off.

Faith could feel the hammer about to drop and didn't want to waste any more time, "Can we get to the point…? What did Alex do?"

Alex's teacher stepped around the desk. Faith's bad feeling grew, seeing the teacher's face, "It's not so much that he did something. I have my students do a lot of drawings… they draw out things they've seen or done, places they've been. I especially like to have my students express how they're feeling in their artwork."

The teacher held out the papers she'd been holding for Faith to see, "For the last several weeks, I've been seeing a shift in Alex's drawings." The teacher let Faith go through the pictures. As she did her fears and alarm grew.

"As you can see the drawings have taken on a sadder and more somber tone. At first I wasn't too concerned because all kids go through phases, but the last couple of days Alex's drawings became… um… stranger."

Faith tried to keep herself in control and not jump out of the chair in panic, "Whaddya mean, strange?"

The teacher nodded to the administrator and the other lady handed her several pictures from a file folder on the desk. Faith's stomach fell away as the pictures were of an alien landscape, except for the last one which was a strange looking bald-headed woman. She looked at Alex, those dark eyes looking back reminded her of his father. The teacher speaking brought her back to the moment.

"Is there anything going on at home? Anything that would explain this… um… behavior?"

Faith stared at the teacher as if she was talking gibberish. She shook herself out of her shock as her eyes darted to the drawings again, "N-No… N-No," she said shakily.

"In cases where a child is having emotional problems, we suggest that they talk to a counsellor or psychologist," the administrator said.

"A-A psychologist?" Faith said in a stunned voice, looking again at the pictures, "What's wrong with me talking to him?"

"Well, sometimes children can open up better with a professional. Sometimes kids don't want to say anything to a parent to disappoint them or upset them. We would be happy to recommend one," Alex's teacher said, a small smile pasted on her face.

"I take it that Alex's father isn't around?" the administrator asked.

"Huh? No," she mumbled.

"Are there any new men in your life? Are you dating?"

It took a minute for the questions to sink in for Faith. As they did a wave of anger built, "What does that have to do with anything?"

"Well, sometimes children react badly to change and new people entering their lives. Especially anyone that could replace a parental figure," the administrator said.

Faith detected a condescending tone in the woman's voice and it hit the wrong nerve, "Who I see or decide to do it with is my business! And for your information, I've been divorced for over four years and taking care of Alex has been and will always be my priority! The only 'person' I've been seeing is rubber and has batteries!"

She didn't wait to see the shocked expressions or hear their responses, "C'mon Alex!" she said grabbing her son's hand, storming out of the office.

Faith muttered to herself as they stormed out of the school, "Know-nothing stuck up bitches! They're the ones that need a good screw!"

They made it a block from the school before Faith calmed down and her mind focused back on to the original problem. She took a deep breath, looking down at Alex, who had kept pace with her, "Are you okay?" she asked.

Alex shrugged and nodded without saying a word.

Faith sighed as she knelt down to look her son straight in the eyes, "You know you can talk to me? Right?" she asked. She tried to keep the growing concern and worry in control, but failed as she saw the expression on Alex's face.

 _Okay, time to try a different approach…_

"Alex, have you been feeling sad?" Faith asked trying to keep her voice calm.

The boy nodded hesitantly.

"Is it something I did that's making you sad?" she asked hesitantly.

It took a moment, but Alex shook his head which caused her to exhale in relief, "Okay… Is it something or someone at school that's making you sad?"

Again the boy shook his head.

"Is it someone else that's making you sad?"

This time the boy nodded. Faith closed her eyes, taking a deep breath to calm herself as a parent's worst nightmares flashed into her head. She found herself afraid to ask, but she had to know.

"Did someone touch you or make you do something that you didn't want to do or didn't like?" she asked in an eerily quiet and calm voice.

Alex shook his head which caused her to exhale in relief, "Oh, thank God!"

She paused for a moment, looking at Alex, to get herself back under control, "Can you tell me why you're sad?" she asked.

It took a moment before the boy replied, "S-She's leaving," Alex said in a quiet sad voice.

Faith paused looking at the boy with a confused expression on her face, "Who's leaving?"

"The lady…"

Faith's confusion was growing, "What lady? Is it one of your teachers that's leaving?"

Alex shook his head, "She's sad too… But, she says she has to go… It's her time," he breathed, tears forming in his eyes.

Confusion filled Faith seeing how upset her son was. She hugged him tightly, trying to comfort him. She wanted to know who could make her son this sad.

"This lady is obviously very important to you. I would like to meet her. Can I meet her?" she asked, wiping away her son's tears.

Her son shook his head which confused Faith even more, "How come I can't meet her?" she asked.

It took a moment before her son replied, "S-She lives faraway…"

"Then how do you see her… talk to her?"

Alex pointed to his head, "She talks and sings to me… I can hear her. Mostly she talks or sings to me when I'm scared or lonely… She knows how to make it go away and make me feel better…"

 **oOoOo**

Faith was opening the door before the doorbell rang a second time, "Thank God, you're here!" she exclaimed letting Giles and Rachel into her home.

"Is everything all right? We came as soon as we got the message!" Rachel asked worriedly.

"I-I don't know?" Faith stammered out in a confused voice, "I need your expertise," she said looking at Giles.

"My expertise? What do you need me for?" a startled Giles replied.

"I need to know if Alex is possessed!" Faith blurted out in scared voice.

Giles and Rachel stared at Faith in disbelief, "P-Possessed? Y-You did say possessed?" Giles stammered out.

"Whoa! Let's back the demon train up!" Rachel said, adding her own shocked voice, "Your message said nothing about demonic possession!"

"I'm sorry," Faith said, taking a deep breath, "I've been going a hundred different ways since Alex told me."

"What did Alex tell you?" Giles asked in a calm voice.

"He says he hears a woman talking… singing to him! He's been drawing strange pictures at school!" Faith said trying to keep herself calm.

"What kind of pictures?" Giles asked.

"Places… People… it was a strange looking woman. She looked human, but she wasn't," Faith replied.

"Do you have any of the pictures?" Giles asked, his face taking on a thoughtful expression.

"No… Sorry," Faith replied, shaking her head.

"Rachel, why don't you and Faith go have a cup of tea. I'll go see Alex and talk to him," Giles said.

"He's in his room. I told him that you were coming for a visit," Faith said worriedly.

Giles could see the fear in Faith's eyes. He took her hand, giving it a gentle squeeze to reassure her, "It will be fine. We'll make sure Alex is safe," he said in a quiet calm voice.

"Please… Giles. He's all I have!" Faith whispered in a desperate voice.

Rachel led Faith to the kitchen and fixed the tea. She tried to keep Faith calm while Giles was talking to Alex, but the Slayer paced back-and-forth like a caged animal as the minutes crept by.

"Sit down," Rachel said.

"I can't," Faith replied as she chewed at another fingernail.

"This could all be nothing," Rachel said, "there hasn't been any problems with demons in years."

"I know… I know… But, if it is something to do with demons or magic, how long before an Alliance Special Ops team is banging on my door? What if they want to take him away?" Faith said, the rising panic and fear obvious in her voice.

"We'll worry about that once we find out what's going on," Rachel replied trying to get Faith to calm down.

Giles entered the kitchen, catching both women off-guard, "What is it? What's wrong with him?" Faith asked desperately, rushing towards him.

"Well, it's not demonic possession. I'm sure of that," Giles said firmly, seeing the relief from both women.

"What is it then?" Faith demanded.

A confused look passed across Giles's face, "I'm not sure. I had him draw me some pictures, and this is what I got," he said holding the drawings out to Faith.

"Those are exactly the same as the ones from the school," Faith exclaimed.

"My God…"

Faith and Giles turned in surprise to Rachel, "What is it?" Giles asked seeing Rachel looking wide-eyed at one drawing.

"I-It can't be… S-Should have seen this…" Rachel muttered, still staring at the drawing.

"What is it? Who is that?" Faith demanded.

"T-That's the Invid Regess… T-The R-Regess is talking to Alex," Rachel stammered out.

 **oOoOo**

"Why in the hell is an Invid talking to my son?" Faith roared as she paced the room.

"It would seem that's pretty obvious," Rachel replied.

Faith glared at Rachel. Giles quickly cut in, "Would someone like to explain what's going?" he asked in a confused voice, looking between the two women.

"You never told him?" Faith asked in a surprised voice.

"I promised you, I wouldn't say anything," Rachel replied.

"Told me what? Promised who what?" Giles asked, looking even more confused now.

"Might as well tell him," Faith said with a sigh.

Giles turned to Rachel, causing her to let out a sigh of her own, "I promised Faith I wouldn't say anything about Alex's father."

"Andy? What about Andy?" Giles replied still confused.

"It's a good thing, you're such pretty eye candy," Rachel said, squeezing Giles's checks with her hands, "you can be so dense at times."

"Andy isn't Alex's father!" Faith blurted out.

Giles stared at Faith and then Rachel as the words sank in, "T-Then w-who is Alex's father?"

"Paul—" Rachel said.

"HE'S NOT PAUL! PAUL'S DEAD!" Faith screamed.

Silence enveloped the room. Giles finally broke it, "So, what you're saying is…?"

"I screwed the Regent, and he's Alex's father… His real father!" Faith said angrily.

"Does Alex know?" Giles asked in a quiet voice.

"No… I haven't said anything to him," Faith replied, calming down a bit.

"Did Andy know?" Giles asked.

Faith stopped her pacing, letting out a deep sigh, "No… But I think he suspected something. That was the main reason our marriage fell apart. He stopped trusting me. He told me that he felt like there was a ghost hanging over us… that he was the consolation guy."

"Is that why you never wanted child support from him?" Giles said.

Faith nodded, "There was no point. I wanted a clean break. I figured that as Alex got older, it was only a matter of time before Andy realized he wasn't his… father. Gawd! Never in a million years did I think my life would turn out like this!"

"Like what?" Giles asked.

"I'm a thirty-something, divorced, single mom, working to make ends meet and whose son is the product of her screwing an alien that looked like her dead boyfriend!" Faith said with a depressed sigh.

"He didn't force you? Did he?" Giles asked, concern filling his voice.

"I wish I could use that as an excuse… No, this was mutual consent fornication," Faith replied shaking her head, "Damn… it was like Paul was there," she added wistfully.

"You said, 'it was like he was there'?" Giles asked getting a thoughtful expression, glancing at Rachel.

Faith saw the glances the two exchanged, "What? What's going on?"

Rachel sighed, "I didn't want to say anything… It was just a theory, and I didn't want to get your hopes up."

"What? What theory?" Faith demanded, feeling like she was missing something important.

Rachel took a moment before answering. "I-I don't think Paul died on Optera…" she said in a quiet voice.

"WHAT?"

"I think… I think that Paul was transformed into the Regent or the two were somehow merged."

"BULLSHIT!"

Rachel sighed, "The evidence I had was all circumstantial… Little things he did and said. Add it all together and it…"

"No! No! NO! What you're saying is crazy! Why didn't you tell me?" Faith said, shaking her head in denial as her mind raced.

"What was I going to say? Get your hopes up based on a theory? And after the Invid nuked Kepler-22, they left the Alliance. H-He went to Optera and hasn't left since," Rachel said in a quiet defensive voice.

Faith let out a scream in frustration, resuming her pacing as silence descended on the room. It was Giles that broke the silence.

"What do you mean 'hasn't left Optera'? No one knows where the Regent went after the incident at Kepler-22. Everyone assumed he returned to Optera, but nothing was ever confirmed," Giles said, giving Rachel a questioning look.

Faith could easily read the uneasy, guilt flashing across Rachel's face, "You know something! What is it? Tell me!" she demanded.

"He made me promise." Rachel pleaded.

"Damn it, tell me! Please, Rachel!" Faith said with a mix of anger and begging in her voice.

Rachel sighed as she stood up, going to the other room. She returned shortly with her bag. Faith and Giles looked confusingly at the other woman as she pulled her tablet from her bag and swiped it. She pressed the tablet and turned it around, so Giles and Faith could see.

"I got this two weeks ago. Other than it came from Optera, I couldn't tell you where it specifically came from."

Faith and Giles both looked in surprise as a familiar face appeared on the screen. The Regent/Paul looked as if he hadn't slept in days.

 _"Hello Chief… I know it's been a few years. I'm sending you this message because… because… I've had a lot of time to think and reflect. Things are about to change and I think I finally understand who and what I am. I can't explain it, but this has been something I've always been destined to be a part of. I know Faith has moved on with her life, b-but… but there isn't a day that goes by I don't think of her. If you could keep an eye on her for me, I would appreciate it… You always liked her. I-I want to say goodbye. I wish I had the guts to send her a message, but it's better this way… she's got her own life and family. Please tell no one, especially Faith. She doesn't need to be dragged back into the past. She has her future… I just want to tell you it has been an honor and privilege to have known you and served with you. Take care of yourself, Rachel."_

Faith's eyes were burning and her heart was pounding. The voice and face looked and sounded like her Paul. This wasn't some alien she was watching.

 _That was Paul…_

"What did he mean by that 'things are about to change'?" Giles asked interrupting Faith's thoughts.

"I don't know," Rachel said with a shrug.

"You got this message around the same time that Alex started drawing those pictures?" Giles said.

"Yes, but…" Rachel suddenly picked up where Giles was going, "you don't think it is coincidence?"

A thoughtful look crossed Giles's face, "No, the timing is too good. Didn't Alex say the Regess told him she was leaving?"

A worrying alarm passed through Faith, "How do I get in touch with him?" she asked desperately.

Rachel shrugged helplessly, "You can't! Like I said, all I know is that he's on Optera."

"I need to get to Optera!" Faith said in a determined voice without thinking or considering what she was saying.

"Whoa, wait a sec! No one goes to Optera. When they left the Alliance, they became all hermit crab kingdom! The Alliance only has a small diplomatic and military outpost on the planet. No visitors allowed!" Rachel blurted, seeing how worked up Faith was.

Faith let out another scream of frustration as she stomped around the room, "Gawd dammit! There's got to be a way to get a message to him or get to Optera!"

"What about James?" Giles offered.

"James? What about him?" Faith said eagerly, trying to grab on to something that offered hope.

Rachel shrugged, "We can call him. I don't think it will do any good."

"Call him… Please!" Faith begged.

 **oOoOo**

 _"You're kidding, right?"_ came the response over the video screen.

"No, sir," Rachel said. Normally she wouldn't have been this formal for a call with James. But this wasn't a normal family-related conversation.

 _"You know that the Invid aren't allowing any visitors to their world. The few people we have there are restricted to the area around the diplomatic compound."_

"I understand, but this is important!" Rachel said tilting her head slightly towards Faith who was pacing impatiently in the background.

James let out a sigh, knowing he wasn't going to win this argument. He'd learnt that trying to argue with Rachel, Faith or Buffy, once they made up their minds, was a losing proposition, _"Okay… Let me make a few calls. I'll get back to you in an hour."_

"Thanks."

It was two hours later when James called back…

"I thought you forgot about us," Rachel quipped, noticing the tiredness on James's face.

 _"I wish… When I asked Alliance command about approaching the Invid and going to Optera, it literally stirred up a hornet's nest with them. They immediately denied my request,"_ James said.

A frown crossed Rachel's face, but then she saw the look on the other man's face, "I take it you found out what's going on?"

A smirk flashed across James's face, _"I did dig deeper,"_ the smirk quickly faded into a worried expression, _"whatever is going on with the Invid has got command freaked. The Alliance is keeping a tight lid on the news, but I found out that the Invid are closing down and withdrawing all their consulates in the Alliance. From my sources, all diplomatic staff have received orders to return home… immediately."_

Rachel blinked in disbelief, "You're kidding? All of them?"

James nodded, _"The Invid embassy in New York is set to close within the next twenty-four hours…"_

"Are the Invid going to attack us?" Giles asked coming up from behind Rachel. He'd been listening to the conversation.

 _"That's the funny thing. They've got no reason to attack us. Despite their isolationist stance, we've kept good relations. If they wanted to hurt us, they could just cut off shipments of the Flower of Life and we'd eventually run out of Protoculture. On top of that, from all the Intel reports I've seen, all their fleet units are gathered at Optera and most of them are planet-side. If they are about to start a war, they're doing it in a strange way,"_ James replied, shaking his head.

"Is there any way we can get to Optera?" Faith asked desperately as she jumped into the conversation.

 _"There's nothing that the Alliance can do…"_ James said. Faith closed her eyes trying to keep her emotions in control in the face of another disappointment.

A small smile flashed across James's face, _"But, I called in a lot of favors and I was able to talk to the Invid embassy in New York. The Ambassador is someone I know and when I asked, she said she will meet with Faith to discuss her request. You have to get to New York ASAP otherwise you're out of luck. Other than that…"_ he said with a shrug.

"Thanks, James!" Rachel said in a relieved voice. Turning to Faith and Giles, "Now all we have to do is get to New York, convince the Invid to let you go to Optera and then get there…"

James spoke catching them by surprise, _"Maybe I can't do any more about convincing the Invid to let you go to Optera. But, I think I can help with the getting to New York and Optera part if they say yes."_


	27. I understand…

**CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN:  
I understand… **

" _…Today, no ships venture to the Kepler-22 system. The extensive network of beacons ensures to warn ships of the dangers that still exist in this system. The official line is that the warnings are for the distortions in space along with the debris and fallout from the Neutron-S missiles used against the planet. Though not officially acknowledged, there are rumors that the Alliance regularly dispatches a ship to scan the system and the planet's remains._

 _Even though the planet is a charred, radioactive husk of its former self, there are rumors… stories circulating that there is life on the planet. The Alliance will neither confirm nor deny these stories. An interesting side note to all this is that the Alliance Navy maintains a stockpile of the few remaining Neutron-S missiles close to the system for quick deployment…"_

— excerpt from _"Light vs. Darkness: War in the Shadows"_

 **oOoOo**

Faith squeezed Alex's hand as the shuttle touched down. A smile came to her face feeling the reassuring squeeze back from him. She overheard voices talking as the shuttle made its approach taxi to the terminal.

"So, when am I going to become an Aunt? I'm not getting any younger."

"When you and James finally set a date and get married!"

Faith shook her head slowly, hearing Buffy and Dawn verbally spar with each other. They had gotten a break when James arranged for a shuttle to pick her, Alex, Rachel and Giles up and fly them to New York. Her surprise grew when she found out the shuttle was from the Arcadia and that Dawn and Aaron along with Buffy and James would accompany them. Faith appreciated all the support as she didn't think she could do the trip by herself. As Dawn and Aaron explained, it was only by chance that the Arcadia was in system. The ship was dropping off most of her crew and equipment here before heading to Tirol and "mothballed" — put into storage with the Reserve Fleet. From there Aaron and Dawn were moving on to the SDF-4, with Aaron taking command of the ship.

Due to the circumstances, it was a subdued reunion for the group. But that hadn't stopped Buffy and Dawn from doting on Alex with the young boy soaking up all the extra attention. Before boarding the shuttle, Buffy had taken Faith off to the side. Faith brought her up to speed on what was happening.

"We'll figure out what's going on," Buffy said trying to reassure her.

 _Seems like old times_ , Faith thought as she listened to the two sisters continue what seemed was like a non-stop conversation since take off. Alex tugged on her arm for attention.

"Mommy?"

Faith forced a worried smile to her face as her son showed her the latest pictures he'd drawn. They were of an alien landscape… One was of a distance range of mountains and the other was of a wide trail or road that branched into two different directions. The detail he put into the pictures amazed her. In all the pictures, rows of strange looking flowers dotted the landscape.

"They're beautiful," Faith said, looking at the two drawings.

"I like this one the best," Alex said proudly, showing her another drawing.

Faith sucked in her breath, trying to keep the smile on her face. Her stomach dropped away looking at this last picture... It was a picture of a planet from space which wasn't unusual. What grabbed her attention was the giant bird, rising from the surface. The bird looked majestic and Alex had colored it a bright green color that it looked to be on fire or glowing as it left the planet for space.

"W-What is that supposed to be?" Faith asked nervously, studying the drawing.

Alex's face suddenly became sad, "T-That's the lady and everyone else… T-They're leaving," he mumbled.

"D-Do you know when the lady is leaving?" Faith asked, suddenly aware that time wasn't on her side.

"Soon," Alex said, shrugging.

 **oOoOo**

James, using his rank and influence, arranged for several vehicles to meet them at the airport. Alex was riding with "Auntie Buffy" and "Auntie Dawn" in the second vehicle. It had been Buffy's idea to give Faith a break as she'd seen how upset Faith was after seeing Alex's drawings. Faith tried to keep her nervousness and impatience in check as their small convoy made the drive from JFK to the Invid embassy in Manhattan.

"You, okay?" Rachel asked.

"I-I don't know," Faith said, exhaling a deep sigh, "I want to scream… or hit something."

Rachel flashed a small knowing smirk, "I understand," she said.

There was a long pause before Faith spoke again, "I'm still pissed at you. Your theory about the Reg— I mean Paul… You knew back when you and Giles came to the house in Texas?"

Rachel sighed, "Yeah… Like I said I suspected, but there was no proof. I had hoped that putting the two of you together would cause something… get a reaction."

"Well, it sure as hell caused something! He's that six-year-old bouncing hurricane of energy in the other car!" Faith said rolling her eyes.

"You know what I mean… not that Alex isn't a good outcome," Rachel said, smirking.

Faith flashed a smile and turned to gaze out the passenger window. For a few moments, quietness filled the vehicle. She finally broke the silence, "I-I don't know if I can stand to lose him again…"

"Paul…?" Rachel asked.

Faith nodded, "We've gone through so much. I-I just don't…" her voice fading as the memories of all the joy and pain she'd shared with Paul came rushing back.

Rachel took Faith's hand in hers, giving it a reassuring squeeze, "I don't know what will happen or how it will turn out. What I can tell you is that never count out Paul Coleiro until it's over!"

 **oOoOo**

As an Invid wearing long robes greeted and escorted the group into the embassy, Faith tried to keep her nervousness from showing. The Invid signalled them to wait in the open foyer of the building.

"If you will wait here, I will inform the Ambassador you are here," the Invid said in flawless English.

James spoke for the group, "Please thank the Ambassador for taking the time to see us on this urgent matter."

"Ambassador Tashe remembers your service, and friendship during the war. That is why she is taking this meeting," the Invid said as he turned and exited through a set of doors into another room.

It seemed like an eternity as the group milled around looking at the foyer and engaging in small talk. Faith had to keep Alex in check as he was all for exploring the embassy and checking out the aliens. The Invid finally returned, catching everyone's attention.

"Ambassador Tashe, will see you now," the Invid said.

James stepped forward, "No… not you," the Invid said holding up his hand, "the Ambassador will see her," the Invid said pointing at Faith.

"M-Me?" Faith replied, her eyes going wide.

"Yes… you are the one asking to visit Optera? The one who wants to see the Regent?"

Faith nodded nervously. She'd had been hoping for James to use his pull and diplomatic skills to convince the ambassador to give them permission to go to Optera. Now, she found herself having to act as negotiator and diplomat as she followed the Invid into another room.

Her senses heightened upon entering the dimly lit room, "Please wait here, Ambassador Tashe will be with you shortly," the Invid said with a bow before turning and leaving.

Faith studied the room, along the walls vines snaked from large planters to the ceiling. Large pink-and-white flowers, clustered in groups of threes, covered the vines. Even though there was no breeze in the room, Faith could have sworn that the vines and flowers were swaying as if there was a wind. It was surprising how alien the room appeared as she studied the swaying plants. The more she watched the plants, the more at ease she became. She could swear that the plants were _calling_ her. A voice from behind startled her.

"The Flower of Life is calling to you," Tashe said as she came into the room.

"T-The p-plants are t-talking to m-me?" Faith said, suddenly nervous and defensive about being in a room of talking plants.

The Invid smiled which Faith thought looked strange, "They're not talking like we would talk… The flower senses your presence. It knows who you are."

"I-It knows m-me?" Faith said. She was having a hard time trying to understand what was going on.

"Yes, as do I… as all Invid do," Tashe said, nodding.

"Okay… Whoa! Hold on for a minute here! Let's back this bus up! How do you know me?" Faith said in shocked voice as things were taking a weirder turn.

Tashe smiled again, "He shared his thoughts and feelings for you with the hive."

Faith stared at Tashe for a long moment. She tried to comprehend what she was hearing, "Y-You're talking about the Regent, aren't you?" she finally said.

"Yes, him… and Admiral Coleiro."

For a moment the only sounds filling the room was the swaying plants. Her heart pounded as her mind raced, "I-Is Paul still alive?" she whispered.

"What do you think? What does your heart say?"

"Dammit! Can we stop with all the metaphysical mumbo-jumbo and can I get a straight answer!" Faith demanded trying to keep her growing frustration in check.

"The universe is a vast and complex organism and yet you want a simple answer," Tashe replied.

"Dammit, yes! I want a plain and simple answer!"

"But, what is the question you want to ask?" Tashe asked.

Faith gritted her teeth, "I already asked my question! Is Paul still alive?"

"Are you absolutely sure that is the question you want to ask?" the Invid asked in a knowing voice.

Faith was about to use some choice words to vent her frustrations, but thoughts and emotions bounced around inside her as the Invid's question sank in. She stared at Tashe for a long moment, considering what the Invid had said. Her thoughts finally coalesced into a moment of self-realization as the universe was trying to unveil a secret to her.

"Why? Why did he do it?" she whispered.

"You want to know why he chose this path?" Tashe replied with a knowing a smile.

Faith felt the barriers crumbling that had kept the pain and anger she'd been carrying for years at bay, "Yes… He could have come home! For five years, I waited and prayed for him to come home and each day a piece of me died, not knowing what had happened to him! Then… then to find out…"

The Invid held out her hand, catching Faith by surprise. She looked on in bewilderment at what looked like dried up leaves in Tashe's hand, "These leaves are from the Flower of Life. They will allow you to find the answers you seek. I must warn you that eating the leaves does not come without risk. It is your choice…" Tashe said gently.

Faith stared at the leaves. A small part of her was warning her not to eat the leaves… that she should turn around, grab Alex and head home.

 _I wish it was that easy_ , she thought.

 _How could I face myself… face Alex if I turn and runaway now? What about Alex?_

Faith slowly took the leaves held in the Invid's outstretched hand, "So… are these like mushrooms? I could get poisoned or something like that?" she asked hesitantly looking at the dried leaf in her hand.

"Yes, the flower can poison you… then there are the hallucinogen effects and possible insanity," Tashe replied in a mater-of-fact tone.

Faith paused, looking at the leaf up against her lips, "I-Insanity? You did say I could go insane?"

Tashe nodded. Faith looked at the leaf again, "Great… Insanity… Just great," she mumbled, shaking her head.

Faith sighed as she made up her mind and took a tentative bite of the dried leave. That portion crumbled in her mouth. She quickly pushed the rest of the leaf into her mouth. A dry bitter taste filled her mouth as she digested it.

She stood there staring at the Invid, waiting for something to happen, "Well, that wasn't too bad. Could have used something to chase it down and get rid of the taste. So, when does—"

Faith couldn't finish her sentence, staggering as an intense pain exploded in her head. It took all her willpower not to throw up, falling to her knees in front of the Invid, "GOD! MAKE IT STOP!" she screamed. She thrashed on the floor, holding her head as the pain increased exponentially.

Everything started to go black for her. The first hint of panic grabbed at her consciousness, "P-P-Please m-make it stop!" Faith begged, feeling herself losing control of her mind and body.

A faint, faraway voice suddenly drew her attention, _"Can you hear me? Focus on my voice."_

It took all of Faith's willpower to push through the pain and focus on the voice. It took what seemed like an eternity, but the pain subsided and the voice became clearer.

 _"I will be your focus… your guide on your journey,"_ the voice said.

"T-Tashe? H-How?" Faith said in a hoarse voice.

 _"Yes… We are joined by the flower. We… the Invid are telepathic. The Flower of Life can give one the ability to see the future… the past through The Shapings."_

Faith wanted to ask what these 'Shapings' were, but suddenly she understood… like she'd known the answer all the time. She became more aware of her surroundings, yet she still couldn't see as everything was black, "Where am I?"

 _"At the beginning… You need to focus on your question."_

"Is this where I click my heels three times and say, 'There's no place like home'?" she said.

The disembodied voice chuckled, surprising her, _"Not quite like that…"_

"Okay, here goes nothing," Faith muttered, "I want to know why? Why did Paul do all this?" she said aloud.

For what seemed like another eternity nothing happened and her frustration and despair grew. Suddenly the blackness disappeared, and she found herself standing in the middle of a city. It looked strange, yet was familiar. She became aware of alarms going off all around her. The rational part of her mind was telling her that this wasn't real, but it looked and sounded real.

As she moved through the deserted city, she caught sight of a huge observation window. The realization hit her she was inside a giant spaceship. Words suddenly came to her.

 _SDF-1… Macross… I'm aboard the SDF-1…_

Then she saw _him_ …

The boy could have passed as a slightly older brother of Alex. He was staring out the observation window at the planet. Faith sucked in her breath, seeing the unending swarm of ships that were surrounding the planet. She remembered seeing the video and how Paul talked about the day the Zentraedi attacked Earth.

 _It's the 'Rain of Death'… Why am I here?_ she thought, feeling momentarily confused.

She wanted to approach the younger Paul, but suddenly space lit up as the Zentraedi warships fired on the planet. Like the young boy, Faith found herself transfixed as she watched a planet die.

"That can't be all of it?" she whispered to herself.

Everything flashed and Faith suddenly found herself in a different city. Explosions and alarms thundered as craft roared across the sky. This time she realized she wasn't inside a spaceship as she could make out the sky through the billowing smoke. Again confusion reigned as she tried to understand why she was now in a warzone.

 _"Hurry up, Paul!"_

The voice caught Faith's attention, and she spun toward the voice. She caught sight of a woman carrying a small girl in her arms calling towards an older boy. No one had to tell her what she was seeing. Her eyes were burning and heart was racing as she watched the woman scream at Paul to catch up. Faith wanted to scream a warning to Paul's mom and sister, but she was a helpless witness as she watched history play out. The scene faded as the explosion and fire enveloped Paul's mother and sister.

"Why?" Faith said to the blackness.

 _"Why, indeed…"_ Tashe's disembodied voice replied.

Suddenly Faith was in a different room. The huge brightly lit chamber looked like the inside of a brain. Webs — pulsating with light — connected different parts of what looked like neural tissue throughout the chamber. Faith instinctively realized she wasn't on Earth anymore.

 _"Optera…"_ Tashe said, answering her unsaid question.

Faith heard voices and turned to face them. She immediately recognized Paul — as he had been — talking to a strange-looking woman. Faith recognized the Regess from Alex's drawings. She noted Paul's pained, angry expression.

 _"Is there no other way?"_ she heard Paul ask the Regess.

 _"The Shapings have brought you this far… You must now ingest the fruit from the Flower of Life if you want to see what will happen,"_ the Regess replied.

Faith wanted to shout a warning, seeing Paul take a bite of the strange-looking fruit that the Regess offered him. Out of reflex, she moved closer towards Paul as he collapsed to the ground, but she understood that she was only seeing what had already occurred.

 _"You wanted to know what would happen if you return to Earth,"_ the Regess said. Faith suddenly got a weird vibe as the Regess looked directly at her.

 _No way! There's no way she can see me!_ Faith thought in disbelief as their eyes met.

 _"As The Shapings have shown you, if you return home to your world the Haydonites will triumph here and destroy all that oppose them. They will then find your homeworld and destroy it along with your species,"_ the Regess said not taking her eyes from Faith's.

"But, they still found Earth… They still attacked us!" Faith said in a voice barely above a whisper.

She was suddenly pulled down into a vortex of images, thoughts and feelings. The vortex cleared, and she saw Paul and _herself_ together. Confusion and doubts filled her mind as she tried to understand what was happening because she had no memory of this event. It suddenly became clear she was witnessing events that _would_ have transpired.

The scene jumped again, and she saw herself and Paul were in another location, the lights were low and he had a small box in his hand. Both Faiths' eyes simultaneously went wide in shock as they realized the important question Paul was asking.

 _"I'm not going back… I'm staying here with you. This is where I belong,"_ Paul replied when the other Faith asked him about the Arcadia and going back to fight the Haydonites.

More images flashed by… Her and Paul getting married… Her giving birth to a son, they named Alex. The years passed by as Alex grew older. Faith's jaw dropped as she gave birth again… this time it was a girl. More images flashed by and then her and Paul were hugging each other tightly. The tension between the two people was obvious, and she wondered what the problem was. As if to answer her question, she heard herself ask.

 _"How bad is it?"_

Paul's face became grim, _"It's bad. We've lost contact with Arcadia along with all our forces and allies in the Local Group. We sent a scout ship, but we've lost contact with them too,"_ he said.

 _"What'll happen to us?"_ the other Faith asked worriedly.

 _"The Haydonites don't know where Earth is. We've stockpiled enough Protoculture to build up our defenses. It'll be okay, you and the kids will be safe."_

Despite Paul's reassuring words, she could tell by his eyes he was lying. She could tell that the other her wasn't buying it either as she hugged her husband tightly.

The scene shifted again and this time she was on a spaceship. She took a moment to orient herself and found Paul talking to the other Faith on a video screen. Alarms, blaring throughout the ship, suddenly interrupted the intimate moment. Faith noted the fear on the other her as the PA system announced that the Haydonite fleet had arrived.

She heard herself say, _"I love you!"_ as Paul ended the call and rushed to the hanger bay.

Faith witnessed the space around Earth. Haydonite ships were everywhere and a sinking sense of despair filled her as she realized that there wouldn't be any happy ending this time. She witnessed Paul's fighter squadron going up against a Haydonite force that horribly outnumbered and outgunned them. The space battle raged around the planet as the desperate defenders tried to blunt the enemy attack and keep them from the planet, but it wasn't to be.

Faith watched as Paul's fighter did its dance of death… destroying every enemy fighter he encountered. Despite all his desperate heroics, his squadron was overwhelmed and wiped out. She held her breath as the enemy brushed aside the human defenders and huge dreadnoughts took position around the planet. A nightmarish realization of what would happen hit her as she watched history about to repeat itself.

Space lit up as the enemy ships fired on the planet. Countless lasers, disrupters and other energy weapons unleashed their power on the planet's surface. Faith could swear, she heard Paul's scream of pain and anguish as she witnessed the Haydonites lay waste to the planet's surface. She watched Paul's fighter — one of the few human defenders left — attack the enemy in a berserk rage. His fighter was in Battloid mode and was using its weapons to spray the swarm of enemy fighters threatening to engulf him. She witnessed Paul's fighter take multiple hits, losing power and beginning to fall towards Earth. Tears ran down her face as Paul's Battloid — still firing his weapons at the enemy — plummeted backwards into the dying planet's atmosphere.

"No, No, No…" she muttered, shaking her head violently as the heat began to envelope and burn the fighter.

A sharp scream caught her attention. Faith found herself back on Optera with Paul and the Regess. Paul was in a fetal position on the floor. His body was heaving from the sobs that shook him. A deep pain stabbed Faith to her soul as she watched him on the floor. She moved closer to him, kneeling beside him. The pain he was going through was obvious.

"I understand now," Faith whispered as more images flashed through her mind. She now understood the choices that Paul had to face and the decisions he had to make. The weight of her pain and anger she'd been carrying for so long… disappeared. Even though she understood it was a useless gesture, she reached out to touch Paul's back… to console him.

"I love you… I always have and I always will!" she whispered as her hand touched his back.

Faith jumped as if she'd touch a live wire. As she recovered, she became aware that Paul was no longer sobbing. She watched as Paul slowly uncurled himself, recovering and standing up to face the Regess. Awe filled her as she saw the determination and purpose in his face. Everything went black again.

 _"There is not much time,"_ a voice said to her.

In her confusion, it took Faith a moment to realize that it wasn't Tashe speaking to her, "W-Who are you?" she croaked out.

The scene changed again and Faith pushed away the growing tendrils of panic as she found herself on a desolate landscape. The rusting wreckage of huge spaceships, digging into the ground like spears, dotted portions of the landscape. Small clumps of greenery were pushing back the desolation and in the distance was a small city that looked like a mixture of modern and ruined buildings. A skinny dirty-looking boy scrounging through the wreckage of a nearby ship caught her attention. Pain and heartbreak flooded through Faith watching a teenage Paul struggle to survive among the wreckage and desolation. She gazed in amazement as she recognized the dried leaf Paul took from his waist pouch and hungrily swallowed.

 _"This is where his path began… This is where the flower chose him…"_

"Chose him for what? Who are you?" Faith demanded as she continued watching the teenage boy continue his scrounging.

Faith jumped as the scene shifted again as a familiar looking woman appeared before her, _"I am the Invid. I am the soul and the spirit. I am the power and the light. I am the protector and guide for my people. I am the mother… I am the Regess!"_

Faith found herself painfully self-conscious of her situation, "Uh… hi," she croaked. She was caught off-guard when the Regess gently smiled at her.

 _"You want to know what he was chosen for?"_

"Um, yeah," Faith mumbled.

 _"You are still alive… Your child is alive… Is that not enough?"_ the Regess said.

Faith considered what the Regess had said. The more she considered it, the more her frustration grew, "You know what? No… That's not enough! There has to be something more to all this? Everything we've had to go through and sacrificed! You're the one talking and singing to my son! Putting images in his head! As one mother to another mother, I think I have the right to know!" she demanded finding her confidence returning.

The Regess's smile grew, _"You are right,"_ she said. Faith exhaled a quiet sigh of relief she hadn't gone too far with her mouth this time.

 _"For eons, we have strived to evolve… Before his arrival in this universe, the Haydonites had us trapped and imprisoned. We could not reach what we were destined to become."_

"Which is?" Faith asked hesitantly.

 _"The time of the Great Work is almost upon us… Soon we will shed our corporeal existence and ascend to a higher plane. One of timeless dimension where we are not bound by earthly constraints and we are one with the realm of only pure thought and energy!"_

Faith was about to ask what she meant by all that when once again the surrounding scene changed. She found herself looking at a planet from space. Faith could have sworn that she'd seen this planet before, but couldn't place it. Any further questioning thoughts died as the planet began to glow in spots with a fiery green color. Her eyes went wide as a huge column of pure blinding energy erupted from the surface of the planet. As the energy column climbed higher and higher into space, it transformed, becoming a huge bird… a phoenix of pure energy. The bird extended its wings, causing Faith to gasp, as it soared into space. She swore she could feel it _calling_ to her… _pulling_ her.

"Paul…" she said in a quavering voice.

 _"When it is time, we will transform… all Invid on the planet with the Protoculture we have stockpiled will join together in our journey. Only a few selected Invid… like Tashe and a few of the flowers will remain behind. Tashe will evolve into the new Regess. She will then begin her own journey and continue the Invid at this level of existence."_

Panic and despair filled Faith, "Does he know about Alex?"

The Regess's face took on a concerned look. When she didn't answer Faith's question right away, she lost control, "Does he know he has a son?" she demanded, not hiding her growing anger.

 _"No…"_ the Regess mumbled.

"Why the hell not?" Faith demanded, "You're the one saying you're telepathic and moving to higher planes of existence! So, why aren't you beaming him messages telling him what the hell is happening!"

The Regess sighed, surprising Faith, _"The Regent has isolated himself from the hive mind, retreating into seclusion after dealing with The First Evil and other demons of your world. He has refused any contact with any Invid. I can sense he will join us when it is time because he sees nothing left for him here."_

"Gawd dammit! I have to get to him! He has to know he has a son… that I still love him!" Faith said angrily, trying to fight the urge to hit something.

Faith blinked in shock as the Regess faded away and the embassy room and Tashe came back into focus. Sweat covered her as she became more aware of her surroundings. Her muscles ached and were tired as if she'd been working out for hours. For a moment, she questioned if everything she'd seen and experienced had actually happened.

"T-Tashe…" Faith croaked, her throat felt as dry as a desert.

"You have found the answers you were seeking… The Invid give you permission to travel and land on Optera," Tashe said, nodding to her.

Faith barely trusted her voice, but she croaked out, "T-Thank y-you."

"You will need to hurry… The time is almost upon all of us," Tashe said quietly.


	28. Conjugal visits could be fun…

**CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT:  
Conjugal visits could be fun… **

" _… Out of the group, I think only Aaron, James, Rachel and myself really understood the risks we were taking by going to Optera. Aaron's orders were to take the Arcadia to Tirol, they didn't specify a route or arrival time. It was a very loose interpretation of orders that a court martial board wouldn't approve of. Even with the threat of jail hanging over us, we still decided to go… there was no real discussion needed. I understood why Aaron and James would have crawled over glass for the Admiral… I have to admit I would have too. I thought I had learned everything there was to know about duty and sacrifice from my sister. All those years serving with him, against the Haydonites, taught me I still had a lot to learn…"_

— Dawn Summers-Hanson

 **oOoOo**

Buffy was waiting in the corridor when Faith exited the cabin, "We're going to fold soon," she read the expression on Faith's face, "You okay?" she asked.

"I need a drink," Faith said tiredly, shaking her head.

"I take it, you told Alex then?"

"Yeah," Faith said letting out a deep sigh, "he needed to know… I wanted him to know who his father was."

"How did he take it?"

"He was quiet and I'm not sure if he understood everything I told him, but I think he'll be okay," Faith said.

"You told him everything else?"

Faith let out another sigh, "Yeah, I told him I was going down to Optera, and he was staying up here with Rachel and Giles."

"And how did he take it?"

Faith hesitated, shifting her eyes away quickly which Buffy picked up on, "Faith, you told Alex about the risks? Right?"

"N–No… I didn't say anything directly," Faith said.

It was Buffy's turn to sigh, "Dammit, Faith!"

Out of reflex, Faith held up her hands defensively, "I wanted to tell him, but he's already had a lot dumped on him. Besides, I think he knows something's up. He hugged me and told me that everything would be all right."

Buffy shook her head slowly, "That's some kid, you got there," she said with a tint of envy in her voice.

A tired smile flashed across Faith's face, "Yeah, he is pretty special."

"Do you want to grab a coffee before the ship folds?" Buffy asked.

"Sure, maybe we can find something to 'Irish' up that coffee?" Faith said with a laugh.

Buffy laughed, shaking her head, "I think James has something packed away," she said as they headed down the corridor to the Arcadia's main cafeteria.

"When you said okay, didn't you mean to say 'five by five'," Buffy said with a smirk.

A smile flashed across Faith's face, "Don't be a smartass," she snorted.

"I always wondered what that meant." Buffy said still smirking.

A small smile crossed Faith's face, "It was something I heard once, and it sounded cool. I never thought it really meant anything. Funny, it was Paul that told me what it actually meant," the smile faded at mentioning his name.

"You'll find him," Buffy said reassuringly as they continued down the corridor.

 **oOoOo**

In an empty corner of the Tzuptum system, the Arcadia ripped a hole through the fabric of the space-time continuum emerging back into normal space. On the ship's bridge, Aaron quickly regained his senses and focus, "Status?"

"The board is green," Dawn reported from her station.

"Helm, can you confirm our location?" Aaron asked.

"Yes, sir. NAV computer confirms we're in the Tzuptum system."

A crewman spoke up, "Sir! Sensors are picking huge numbers of ships in orbit around Optera. Computer has ID'd them as them Invid. We're also picking up several IFF transponders… They're Alliance!"

Aaron looked over at Dawn, "They must be here to help evacuate our people. Well, If we can see them, they can probably see us," he said getting a nod from Dawn in return.

Aaron turned to James, and the others assembled behind his bridge station, "Well, sir. How do you want to play this?"

James looked at the main board, displaying icons of all the ships in orbit, "We go in nice and slow," he said rubbing his chin as he considered the board.

"Sir, you're aware the problem won't be with the Invid," Aaron said in a matter-of-fact way. The Arcadia was supposed to be on its way to Tirol and not at Optera.

James snorted as he recalled the dressing down he'd received when he asked Alliance Command to take the Arcadia to Optera. The orders from command had been quite explicit in that whatever was happening on the planet, the Alliance would not get involved or interfere. The priority was to evacuate all Alliance personnel, "Yeah, I know. We can only hope that those Alliance ships don't realize we're here against orders and they don't call command and check."

Even though Aaron realized he, Dawn and James could face a court martial for insubordination and disobeying orders, he was committed to this mission. He just didn't want things to get _worse_ if he could help it, "And if they do check? What then?" Aaron asked, not sure if he wanted to hear the answer.

"One problem at a time, Captain," James said, wondering what he would do after he was thrown out of the service.

 **oOoOo**

The insertion into orbit proceeded smoothly and the other Alliance ships hailed the Arcadia. Fortunately the other Alliance ships were busy evacuating personnel and equipment from the surface. They accepted the Arcadia was here to lend help with the evacuation if needed without any follow-up questions.

The group... James, Dawn, Buffy and Faith were now gathered on the hanger deck to take a shuttle down to the planet's surface. From there, Faith would hopefully find Paul before the Invid began their transformation. James watched as Faith and Buffy loaded Cyclones into the shuttle's cargo bay. He'd already voiced his concerns to Buffy about her staying on the planet to assist with Faith's search. There was a part of him that understood trying to search a whole planet for one man was a forlorn hope, but this was for Admiral Coleiro. James still had some problems wrapping his mind around everything that Faith had told them about her meeting with Tashe. All he knew was if there was even a small chance the Admiral was still alive, James would gladly put his career on the line to bring him home.

"When we get down there, let me do all the talking," James said as Dawn, Buffy and Faith joined him to board the shuttle. He noted the nods of acknowledgement from the three women.

"So, what's the plan when we get down there?" Dawn asked.

Faith sighed, "I'm not sure… We ask around and see if anyone has seen Paul."

James shook his head as her plan didn't fill him with confidence. He realized it was only a matter of time before one of the Alliance ships reported the Arcadia here at Optera and command would scream for blood.

Faith saw James's doubt, and it struck a nerve. She was well aware of the time factor and risks, "It's not like we have time to put up 'LOST' posters and wander around calling his name," she said testily.

Buffy stepped in to calm the situation, "It's okay… We'll start at the base and ask around there. I'm sure they must have some information on the Regent's whereabouts… Right, James?" she said giving him a look he was familiar with.

James took a deep breath, "Yeah… If we find the base Intelligence Officer, he might have some info or leads to help get us going in the right direction."

 **oOoOo**

Faith descended the shuttle ramp into a scene of organized chaos. The shuttle flight down to the surface felt as if had taken several hours. It was only a trick of the mind as the tension increased and her nerves frayed. Now they were on a landing pad surrounded by Alliance personnel scrambling to load equipment and people on to shuttles... as one shuttle landed another was taking off.

Faith glanced over to Buffy, Dawn and James for direction as she had no idea what to do next. She got a sympathetic expression from Buffy, but James's attention was in another direction. Faith turned to where he was looking and saw two Alliance officers moving through the chaos towards them. Faith and Buffy hung back at a discreet distance as James, with Dawn at his side, took the lead moving to meet the approaching officers. As soon as they got close, the two officers came to attention, saluting crisply. Dawn came to attention returning the salutes.

"Sir!" one officer said in sharp voice.

"At ease," James said, returning the salutes.

"Sir, I'm Colonel Terrell, base commander and military liaison. This is my aide, Captain Kurri."

James nodded to both officers, "Colonel, what's your status?"

"It'll be close, but we should have the evacuation completed within the deadline," the Colonel replied, "I was surprised to find out the Arcadia was here. We weren't expecting her or you, sir," he added.

Faith overheard the Colonel and glanced to Buffy, giving her a worried, confused face. Buffy gave her a small shake of the head to keep her cool. Trying to keep his poker face in play, James played along, "You know how things go… We got last minute orders to provide any assistance if needed. I'm glad to hear you have things in hand, so should be easy for us," James said, flashing a grin.

Colonel Terrell glanced towards Buffy and Faith standing behind James and Dawn, "Sir?" the Colonel said, his eyes darting between James and the two obvious non-military personnel.

"My party will remain here to co-ordinate if you require our help, but we'll stay out of your hair," James said. He tried to appear casual, studying both officers and their reactions as they studied him and his group in kind.

The Colonel and Captain both came to attention, "Yes, sir!" the Colonel said, quickly turning and heading off towards a building at a fast pace with the Captain in tow.

James spoke as soon as they were out of earshot, "How long?"

"Ten minutes max… fifteen if we're lucky," Dawn replied, shaking her head.

"We're not that lucky," James muttered.

"What's wrong?" Buffy asked moving with Faith to join James and Dawn.

"We're blown! The Colonel is heading to check on us with Alliance Command. We won't have time to unload your Cyclones," James replied.

"So, what now?" Faith replied, trying to keep her calm.

James didn't hesitate, "Time to improvise! Head to the vehicle bay, over there," he said leaning his head toward a building, "There should be some Cyclones there. You won't have time to armor up. Just grab them and go! Get outside the compound. Dawn and I will try to keep everyone distracted and find the Intelligence Officer. Hopefully they'll have info on the Admiral's whereabouts and we can get it to you."

There was no delay as Buffy and Faith hurried towards the vehicle bay. James and Dawn made their way to the main office structure. Buffy and Faith drew some strange looks from the Alliance personnel, but they were too busy with the evacuation to deal with two civilians wandering around the vehicle bay. At first they couldn't find any Cyclones, but then located where they were.

"Dammit!" Faith swore seeing the line of Cyclones. They were already switched into 'storage mode' — folded up into cubes to make them easier to load and transport.

"It'll take too long to switch them back into cycle mode, and it will draw attention," she said desperately.

"Hang on," Buffy said, nodding to another part of the vehicle bay. Faith looked to where she was nodding and saw a Cyclone parked in a maintenance area. They casually made their way over to the Cyclone, "There's only the one and it has no Protoculture cell!" Faith muttered just loud enough for Buffy to hear her.

"The cells are over there," Buffy said, nodding towards a storage rack that was in the center of where people were working.

"They're not going to let us stroll up and just take a cell. Even if we get a cell, we still only have one Cyclone," Faith said, shaking her head.

Buffy met her eyes, "I'll keep everyone busy while you grab the cell and ride out of here," she said in a low voice.

"Buffy… you can't!"

"No Buffys… No buts… You grab the energy cell and haul ass out of here!"

The anguish was evident on Faith's face, "I-I can't leave you behind."

A soft smile flashed on Buffy's face, "Hey, it's not like we're fighting vampires. I'll run interference and when you take off, I'll hightail it back to the shuttle. Okay?"

Buffy saw that Faith still appeared unconvinced, "Faith… you have to do this! You find Paul and bring him home… for you and Alex!"

Faith slowly nodded. She didn't like it, but she understood what needed to be done.

"Okay, let's go! Nice and casual," Buffy said, smiling as she led the way across the vehicle bay to where the Protoculture energy cells were.

"Just like old times," Faith muttered.

"I don't recall us ever stealing vehicles from the military on alien planets?" Buffy said, giving her a quizzical gaze.

Faith smirked, "I wasn't talking about us… I used to boost cars back in Boston before I became a Slayer."

"I'm sure Alex would like to hear about that side of you when he gets older," Buffy teased.

"Don't you dare," Faith replied, giving Buffy a glare before breaking into a small smile. She was thankful for the small talk as it calmed her nerves as they moved closer to the storage rack.

"You ready?" Faith asked.

"I'm good. I'll go distract that soldier… wait a few seconds and then make your move. Hopefully, he won't notice you and you can get to the bike and be out of here," Buffy replied.

Faith smirked, "You know we're not that lucky."

"Yeah, I know," Buffy sighed, moving towards the soldier.

Buffy was still figuring out how she was going to play this out as she moved closer. She decided on using her God-given assets, tugging her bodysuit down and pulling the front zipper down to reveal a little more cleavage.

"Uh… Hi, there!" she said waving and bending over slightly to catch the young soldier's attention. As she moved closer, she noted the surprised confusion on the younger man's face as he stared at her.

"Ma'am, civilians aren't allowed in this area!" the soldier said stepping forward to intercept Buffy.

Buffy's eyes narrowed, _Ma'am? He called me ma'am!_

Quickly seeing that her sex appeal was being wasted, she changed to her other standby… the helpless blonde, "I know! I was with my fiancé and I seem to have lost him in all the confusion. Perhaps you can help me? He would be really appreciative," she said, coyly.

The soldier eyed her skeptically as he closed the distance, "And who is your fiancé?"

"Admiral James Wright," she said, trying not to laugh as the name registered and the soldier's eyes widen in surprise.

"Uh… Y-Yes, ma'am!" the soldier stuttered, jumping to attention. He realized the world of hurt he could land in if he let anything happen to the Admiral's fiancée, "I-If you'll follow me, ma'am. I'll take you to my commanding officer… he'll make sure to— HEY, GET AWAY FROM THERE! YOU'RE NOT AUTH—"

Buffy swore, but didn't hesitate as the soldier shouted out, grabbing him and flipping him over her shoulder. The soldier grunted as he landed hard on the floor. Buffy stepped back to evaluate the situation… Faith had grabbed the energy cell and was sprinting back to the Cyclone. Her attack caught the soldiers in the vehicle bay by surprise, and for a moment they stood frozen gaping at the scene. They finally shook off their shock, moving to intervene. Some soldiers were heading towards Faith and another group moved on Buffy.

Buffy wasn't going to stand around and wait. She moved to intercept the soldiers heading for Faith. The soldier, she'd flipped, was just beginning to groggily sit up. As Buffy moved past him, she punched him in the head dropping him back to the ground.

"That's for calling me, Ma'am!" Buffy muttered, sprinting to head off the soldiers. She bowled into the soldiers, sending them sprawling. They immediately forgot about the other woman as they now had to face a more immediate threat. They tried to tackle Buffy, but she sidestepped them, either sending them to the ground with punches or kicks. She was at a slight handicap, trying to control her blows because she didn't want to seriously hurt or kill anyone.

It was as if time froze as more soldiers joined the fray against her. Her focus was so intent on the fight that the loud roar of a Cyclone surprised her. The squealing of tires on concrete immediately joined the engine roar, drowning out incoherent shouts. Buffy risked a glanced and saw Faith peeling out of the vehicle bay.

 _You go, girl! Don't look back!_ she thought briefly as her focus immediately returned to the soldiers trying to swarm her.

 _Now… time to find me an exit_ , she thought, turning to sprint from the soldiers.

 **oOoOo**

Faith fought to keep her focus on the road as she sped up, but a part of her still was still back in the vehicle bay. Despite all the years of differences, arguments and fighting, Buffy was still a part of the small group which she called family. She hadn't risked a glance back as she peeled out of the vehicle bay. The growing guilt was weighing on her as she recalled Buffy taking on the crowd of soldiers to buy her time to escape.

She swore as she swerved to avoid people and other vehicles in the compound, increasing her speed to lose any pursuit. That a helmet was with the Cyclone was a lucky break. She was thankful to not have to deal with the wind or dirt getting in her eyes. She recognized that she was nearing the base entrance. A sudden worry of how she would get through the gate came to the forefront. If she'd been in Cyclone armor, she could have transformed into battloid mode and easily vaulted the base fence or gate… she had no choice.

She glanced around looking for other options, but a huge smile flashed on her face as she saw that the gate was open as another vehicle was entering the base. She gunned the throttle to close the distance knowing there was no time to waste… she would only have the one chance.

Her timing and reflexes were perfect as she slowed just enough to miss the incoming vehicle as it braked and swerved to avoid her. In a flash she was through the gate, past the surprised soldiers and into the open countryside. Screaming a rebel yell, she gunned the throttle, speeding further away from the Alliance base.

 **oOoOo**

James, followed by Dawn, made their way up the shuttle ramp as wailing alarms filled the air. He grimaced in worry thinking about Buffy. They'd been in the base's main administration building, looking for any leads on the Regent/Paul's location, when the alarms went off.

It didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out what was happening, "Sir, we should head back to the shuttle?" Dawn whispered urgently as base personnel rushed around.

They hadn't been able to find anyone or any info that would be helpful in their search, but a frustrated James recognized they couldn't wait around. The last thing they needed was for Dawn and him to be held for questioning or worse… locked up, "Agreed," he replied, heading for the nearest exit.

They kept to the sidelines, trying not to draw attention to themselves, as they made their way back to the shuttle. Despite maintaining a low profile, they still caught snatches of what was happening… a fight had occurred in the vehicle bay and someone had stolen a Cyclone. They heard the stolen motorcycle evaded base personnel and escaped out the gate. Now standing at the top of the shuttle ramp, viewing the chaotic scene they'd made worse, James could only wonder and worry about Buffy and Faith. Dawn caught his attention, "Sir, we've got trouble!"

James made out an unhappy looking Colonel Terrell, followed by a small group of armed soldiers, making their way towards the shuttle. James swore in frustration not knowing where Buffy or Faith was or what happened to them. All he was aware of was that one Cyclone had escaped the base.

"Sir, you know we can't stay! Buffy and Faith will be alright, they can take care of themselves! We need to go back to the Arcadia and determine the situation. If we stay here, we won't be able to help them!"

"I know!" James swore in frustration, noting again the approaching Colonel. He hated himself for the decision he had to make, "Damn it, where are you Buffy?" he muttered.

A voice from behind caused both Dawn and James to spin, "I'm right here," Buffy said moving out from the shadows. A relieved smile filled James's face as she came up and hugged him. He wasted no more time, pressing the shuttle ramp control panel to raise the ramp. As the ramp closed, he contacted the shuttle pilots to have them take-off immediately.

Buffy, Dawn and James moved to grab seats and strap in as the shuttle lifted off, "I was worried," James said, giving Buffy a smile.

"I know," she replied, returning the smile.

"Cutting it pretty close, sis? I take it that was Faith on the Cyclone?" Dawn said, giving Buffy a smirk.

Buffy nodded, "Do you know if she made it?"

James nodded, "Yeah, we caught word that someone blew through the main gate like a 'bat out of hell'."

Buffy exhaled a sigh of relief, "Are they going to chase after her?"

"No, they're too busy with the evacuation to send people out. They've got a deadline," James replied, shaking his head.

"Did you find anything about Paul?" Buffy asked hopefully.

Dawn shook her head, ruefully, "No, we didn't have time."

"What happens now?" Buffy asked, looking to James.

James sighed, "Well, by the time we dock with the Arcadia there will probably be orders from Alliance Command ordering us to leave the system. I'm also figuring that there is a better than seventy-five percent chance there are orders to relieve me of command and probably throw me in the brig."

"We can't leave now!" Buffy exclaimed.

James smirked, "We're not going anywhere… We'll stay as long as we can to help Faith anyway we can."

"You know I love you… don't you?" Buffy said, giving James a soft smile.

"Just keep that in mind when I get sentenced at my court-martial," James said with a snort.

"Well, at least you can look forward to the conjugal visits," Buffy replied, blowing him a kiss.

Dawn sighed, "Maybe, Aaron and I can have adjoining cells."


	29. It ain't over until…

**CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE:  
It ain't over until… **

" _…There is life on this world, as far as the eye can see! Under this aquamarine sky there is pure unadulterated life. I have observed how the sentient life forms interact with their environment. Their whole existence of routines and rituals are centered on the flowers and fruit of this "Flower of Life" that dominates this planet. There is a power… a purpose for this flower beyond what the Invid are using it for. I can feel it in my bones! It is almost as if the flower is calling to me… to unleash its power…"_

— Zor

 **oOoOo**

Faith didn't know how long she drove. She wanted to make sure she put enough distance between her and the Alliance base. While she was driving, she attempted to contact the Arcadia over the Cyclone's communication system. The red flashing light on the console and the non-response from the communication system told her why this Cyclone was in the maintenance bay.

She swore at her luck, but didn't slow down as she kept her focus on what passed for roads. She finally stopped for a break and get her bearings. Pulled over to the side with her helmet off she had a real chance to look around. The whole time getting to Optera, Faith's focus was on Alex and getting to Paul. Visiting an alien planet on the other side of the galaxy wasn't at the forefront of her thoughts. Now, under a bright aquamarine sky that realization was now sinking in as she took in the alien landscape.

It was a different world, but yet in a strange way it seemed… familiar. She had no explanation for the sensation.

"Okay, what do I do now? Where do I go?" she mumbled, scanning the alien terrain. She decided that bodily needs came first as she checked the Cyclone's cargo container. Luck was with her in this case as the cargo container had a standard survival kit. She appreciated her good fortune as she took one of the emergency pouches of water, ripping it open and taking a long swig to quench her thirst. Doing a quick inventory of the contents, she figured she had enough emergency food and water for three days. She knew she didn't have a lot of time, so she had no intentions on being here for that long. With that being said, until she could communicate with the Arcadia or get help from the locals, she would have to conserve her supplies.

As she took another drink, she admired and appreciated the planet's beauty. She recognized the Flower of Life that seemed to be everywhere mixing with the other flora. The flowers were swaying in a light breeze and Faith watched how the flowers seemed to move in a rhythm with the wind. It was so hypnotic she lost track of time for a moment. She gave her head a shake to break the spell... that's when she finally noticed it. There was _no_ sound. Back on Earth there would have been birds chirping and other background noises, but here there was nothing.

A sudden chill caused her to shudder as the silence played on her nerves, "I need to get moving," she mumbled, putting her helmet back on.

 _Okay… Which way to go?_ she thought, glancing around.

 _I guess I'll keep following the road… It's not a yellow-brick one, but maybe I'll get lucky…_

She revved the throttle, the Cyclone's engine shattering the quiet, and sped off down the road in hopes finding someone or something to help her search.

 **oOoOo**

Faith lost track of time as she continued driving, she became aware she was losing her light as the sun set behind a distant range of mountains. For a moment, she debated about continuing on, but common sense prevailed as her body told her she needed to rest along with the dwindling light. This wasn't like home… she didn't know the territory or even where she was going. She still hadn't come across any local inhabitants or signs of civilization. She needed to stop and plan what her next move would be.

In the waning daylight, she found a spot that looked sheltered and secure, and pulled off the road. Stretching to work out the kinks from the riding, she studied the surrounding area. She couldn't see much of the landscape as night time drew close, but she got a strange sensation. It was nagging her, trying to get her attention.

She shook off the sensation as exhaustion moved to the forefront and she grabbed a survival blanket from the Cyclone's cargo container, settling down next to the motorcycle. At first, she didn't think she could fall asleep, but that changed as she closed her eyes and drifted off. It didn't take long for her to fall into a deep sleep filled with disturbed dreams of places and people. Her mind finally settled down, focusing on Alex… and Paul.

 **oOoOo**

The warmth of the early morning sun on her face was her wake-up call as Faith groggily opened her eyes. It took a few moments for her to remember where she was as flashes from her dreams mixed with her conscious mind. She stretched as she got up and rummaged through the survival kit for something to eat. As she munched on a survival food bar, sitting on the Cyclone, she found her thoughts drifting trying to figure out what her next move was.

 _So, what do I do now? Which direction do I go in?_ she thought as she absently stared off at the distant range of mountains.

The strange nagging sensation from yesterday returned as she sat there eating, trying to decide what to do. Her frustration grew as she couldn't figure out what this feeling was trying to tell her, but it felt important which only increased her irritation.

She tried brushing it way as she tried to focus on planning, but it only grew stronger. It was at that moment the morning sun lit up the distant mountain range and it finally dawned on her.

"Holy sh—!" she muttered as she stared at the mountains and everything fell into place. She realized why everything seemed familiar as she recalled the pictures that Alex had drawn. The distant mountains were exactly as he'd drawn them from where she was.

Some would have argued that it was coincidence or seeing what she wanted to see, but she'd seen and experienced too much to listen to those arguments. Besides, she didn't have any other choices or plans as she quickly packed up and roared off in a cloud of dust towards the mountains…

 **oOoOo**

As Faith got closer to the mountains, she grew more confident in her decision to follow her feeling. Yet as her decision reassured her, she experienced a sense of urgency she couldn't explain. Rather than fight or question the sensation, she gunned the Cyclone's throttle increasing her speed as she entered a small valley at the foot of the mountains.

The mountains grew steeper the further she drove into the valley. There was still no sign of anyone living in the area other than the road which was now nothing more than an oversized trail. Along the side of the road, swaying in the light breeze, were the Flowers of Life. Faith fought to keep her eyes focused on the road as the hypnotic swaying of the flowers pulled at her. Their pull almost caused her to miss it as she belatedly slammed on her brakes, bringing the Cyclone to a screeching halt in a cloud of dust.

Faith turned the motorcycle around, slowly driving back to a point where she stopped and studied the road. She saw a trail, looking barely used, branching off the road heading into a small densely canopied forest that seemed to go deeper into the mountains.

There was no way she should've seen the trail, but yet she'd instinctively known it was there. She took a moment to realize how she'd known the trail was here… it was from another of Alex's drawings. She had no explanation for it all, but she knew this was the path for her to take.

 _The road least traveled_ , she thought, pulling the phrase from her memory as she put her Cyclone on the trail and followed it.

 **oOoOo**

Faith had no idea how long she'd been following the trail, but it seemed to be leading her higher and deeper into the mountains. For a while she thought the trail would take her over the mountain range, but it finally leveled out. A little more driving found her entering a small bowl-shaped valley hidden near the top of the mountain range. Thick large trees surrounded the outer edges of the valley. As she drove through the trees, she found they only formed an outer shell as the valley opened ahead of her.

As Faith cleared the forest, her eyes went wide in shock. She saw several buildings on the other side of the valley, nestled up against the mountain and trees for shelter. Her heart pounded as she drove towards the structures. As she got closer, she picked up details of the buildings. There was one huge structure that looked like a barn. The smaller building definitely looked like someone lived there… as whiffs of white smoke escaped the chimney.

With her heart racing, Faith suddenly found herself pulled in different directions. Her first instinct was to gun the Cyclone and roar in. Despite the instinct, hesitation reared its ugly head as she found she didn't know what to say if Paul was here.

She erred on the side of caution, driving slowly towards the buildings. She pulled up in front of the house and sat there for a long moment studying the building. It was a modest, simple design with a front veranda. There was a chair on the veranda, so someone sitting there would have a view of the whole valley.

 _Nothing's going to happen if I sit here_ , she thought as she pushed her hesitation and doubts aside, taking off her helmet and getting off the Cyclone. As she realized how she must look after all the riding, she wished she'd brought a change of clothes or at least a brush.

Faith warily walked towards the front door as her mind raced of what she would say if Paul was here. As she climbed the steps, her eyes drifted to the chair sitting by itself on the veranda. She imagined how Paul must have sat there and wondered what he would have been thinking. Now, standing at the front door, she took deep breaths to calm herself as she knocked gently on the door. Time dragged as she stood there waiting for a response. She knocked again, this time a little harder, but again there was no response. She moved over to one window and peered in, noting the simple furnishings and layout of the house.

As a dejected sigh escaped her, she realized that she'd covered every possible situation… except for the one where no one was home! She looked towards the larger structure and debated going over to see if anyone was there. As she took the first couple of steps down, a voice spoke causing her to freeze.

"F-Faith?"

Time froze and for a moment she didn't know if she was dreaming this or not. She slowly turned towards the voice and the sight of a wide-eyed and open-mouthed man, standing at the corner of the house, greeted her. Faith took a deep breath and continued down the steps towards Paul. She noted the bloodshot eyes, along with the beard and shaggy long hair. Despite his appearance, her heart soared she'd found him.

"F-Faith, w-what are you doing here?" she heard him ask shakily as she stopped in front of him.

She took a deep breath, "I came here to find you."

"Y-You shouldn't be here! You have to leave! There isn't much time left!" the man stammered.

Faith shook her head, "I came here to take you home," she breathed.

The man shook his head, "T-This is my home! T-This is where I b-belong…"

"Paul…"

"DAMMIT! I'M NOT HIM! HE DIED YEARS AGO! I'M THE REGENT!"

A flash of anger filled Faith, "Bullshit!" she replied stubbornly, stepping closer meeting his dark eyes, "You're still Paul! Deep inside you… he was always there… he never left!"

The man shook his head, turning away from Faith. It hurt too much to see her as a flood of memories and emotions engulfed him. He'd spent years hiding and trying to bury his feelings and love for her. For her to show up now was almost too painful to bear.

"You have to leave! It's almost time… I can feel it! I can feel them calling to me… to join them!" he said, his voice cracking in pain and sadness.

Faith moved closer and gently put her hand on Paul's shoulder. An electric shook passed through her fingertips… it was exactly like during her vision with Tashe. She saw how Paul stiffened at her touch and he slowly turned around to face her.

"Faith, p-please go home… Go home to your family. You have a future with them. There's nothing here for you."

Faith shook her head stubbornly, trying to fight back the growing tears, "Damn you! You promised me you would come back!"

"I-I'm sorry I had to break my promise…"

"Don't be sorry! I know why you had to do what you did! It's over, you can come home and we can be together!" Faith pleaded.

Paul shook his head, "Go home to your husband and child… that's where you belong," he whispered.

Faith knew there was no more time to pussyfoot around, "He's your son! You have a son!" she blurted out.

Paul stared at her in shock and as if she was crazy. He took a moment to put his words together, "M-My son? I-I h-have a s-son?" he stammered, not believing what he was saying.

Faith smiled as tears filled her eyes, "Yes, his name is Alex, and damn if he doesn't look and act like you!"

"I-I…" Paul trailed off, not sure of what to say or think.

"I came here because I still love you! Hell, I've always loved you! We have a chance for a future! We can be a family, but we have to leave now! The Arcadia is in orbit and if we can signal them, they can pick us up and take us home!"

"H-Home?" Paul whispered.

"You know… home… Earth," Faith said, trying to urge Paul to get moving.

"I-I can't go back to Earth," Paul stammered.

Faith shook her head in confusion, "Why? What's wrong now?"

"The Sunnydale Accords… I can never set foot on Earth again," Paul replied hesitantly.

More pieces fell into place for Faith as she understood why Paul retreated up here away from everything and everyone, "Hell! It doesn't matter where we go or live as long as we're together!"

When Paul didn't move, her anger moved to the forefront, "What's the matter? Don't you love me now that you find out I'm a divorced single mom?"

A small smirk formed on Paul's face, surprising her, "You look pretty good for being a mom," he replied as the smirk turned into a smile.

Faith smiled, fighting long simmering urges and desires, _There's time for that later… We need to get out of here and contact the Arcadia_ , she thought.

"I've never stopped loving you," Paul added.

"Then what the hell are we waiting for?" Faith said, reaching out for his hand.

Paul took her hand, gently squeezing it, "Nothing… let's go," he replied.

They took a couple of steps, but Paul stopped, yanking hard on Faith's arm, spinning her. She recovered and saw his face fill with a mixture of intense pleasure and pain. He let go of her hand and staggered, falling to his knees.

"What's wrong?"

Paul's breathing became laboured and ragged as he knelt on the ground. His whole body felt as it was being pulled in multiple directions at once as a multitude of voices echoed in the recesses of his mind. He instinctively knew what was happening… the final journey was about to begin.

"P-Paul? W-What's wrong? What's happening?" Faith asked worriedly.

It took all of Paul's will power to focus and get himself under control, "I-It's begun!" was all he could hoarsely get out.

Faith didn't need any further explanations. The image the Regess had shown her played in her head, "Alex," she whispered, staring at the sky as a sense of loss filled her. She didn't know what to do now. With the Invid transformation under way, there was no way the Arcadia could send anyone down to pick them up… this was the end.

Paul looked to Faith, hearing her say their son's name. Images and visions danced through his head. When he'd chosen this path to save Faith and everyone else, he'd known he was giving up all chances for a future with Faith. As the Invid began their transformation, the shadows and darkness that always blocked him from seeing certain things — even before his transformation into the Regent — parted. The Shapings unveiled its secrets giving him a glimpse of what _could be_ …

Faith wanted to resign herself to her fate, but anger filled her instead. She'd failed… she'd failed not only herself, but Paul and especially Alex. She wouldn't be there to see him grow up, hug him and tell him she loved him.

 _I wonder how long we have? I wonder if it will hurt?_ she thought. The images of a huge phoenix made of energy flying off into space towards a higher plane of existence danced in her head. Paul interrupted her melancholy.

"It's not over…"

She turned, surprised to see him standing up. His face projected an intensity and sense of purpose she'd never seen before.

"What do we do?" she asked helplessly, noting that the skies seemed to be darkening as if nightfall was coming.

Paul didn't hesitate as he grabbed Faith's hand and dragged her over towards the larger barn-like structure. She didn't struggle, but she didn't see how a barn would protect them.

"If you want to go out with a bang, I would prefer a bed to a roll in the hay," Faith said somberly, trying to find something to laugh about.

Paul smirked, "It ain't over until the fat lady sings," he said mysteriously as he went to open the large door of the structure.

Faith shrugged, shaking her head as the door to the large structure opened. She turned, her eyes going wide in shock as she shook her head in disbelief at what was inside the 'barn'.

"Holy, shit!" she muttered.

 **oOoOo**

"Report!" James ordered.

"Energy levels are off the chart! The more intense power readings are in the Invid population centers!" replied the officer manning the sensor station on the Arcadia's bridge.

James looked over to Aaron and Dawn and saw his confusion mirrored on their faces. Until a few minutes ago, their "only" concerns was trying to find and communicate with Faith on the surface along with ignoring calls from Alliance Command.

The first communications from command were to Aaron to relieve James of command and place him in custody. After several hours, the communications were now being directed to the Arcadia's executive officer to relieve _both_ James and Aaron and place them in custody. There was a running pool on the ship of who _wouldn't_ be "in custody" at the end of all this…

Fortunately, the evacuation fleet was too busy getting Alliance personnel off Optera to do anything about the Arcadia. Even with them busy evacuating and leaving the system, James didn't want to give them an opportunity, and they hung in an orbit away from the other Alliance ships.

"What's happening down there?"

James turned towards Rachel. Giles, Buffy and Alex were standing with the former Chief, "I have no idea, but whatever is happening it's massive. We can't stay here… We're going to have to break orbit."

"You can't! Faith!" Buffy pleaded, desperately.

Buffy's pleading tore at James, but he had to ensure the safety of the ship and crew… that was his priority. There was no way he would send anyone down to the surface.

 _Hell, we don't even know where to start looking for them!_

"Buffy, I won't jeopardize the safety of this ship when we don't even know what's going on down there!" James replied somberly.

A little voice spoke up, stunning everyone on the bridge, "They're getting ready to leave."

Rachel knelt down to study Alex better, "Who's getting ready to leave? How do you know?" she asked the small boy warily.

"The Invid… I can hear them. They're happy, yet she's sad to be leaving," the young boy replied.

Rachel stared at Alex. She knew who the "She" he was referring to, "Is there any way you can ask _her_ if she knows where your mom and dad are?"

The adult intensity of the young boy's eyes threw the older woman off balance, "Mom found him… they're together."

James was going to ask Alex if he knew where Faith and Paul were. The boy turned to face him as if he knew what he would ask. The Admiral stared into those young dark eyes and became unnerved.

Alex smiled, "You don't have to send any one down to the planet, but you will need to get closer."

A confused James was going to ask Alex what he meant, but a call out from the communications station drew his attention.

"Sir! I'm getting a call on tactical channel one-oh-four!"

An even more confused James looked towards Aaron and Dawn getting confused looks back. Fighter squadrons were the only ones that used that tactical channel. This was strange because the Arcadia had offloaded her fighter squadrons back on Earth, and as far as he knew none of the other Alliance ships had launched fighters. There was no way that whoever was calling was a straggler… this had to be someone else or a mistake.

"Query them! Get an IFF or ID!" James ordered, trying to regain control over the situation.

He waited for what seemed like an inordinate amount of time, "Well? Did they ID themselves," a frustrated James asked.

The crewman manning the communications station got a strange expression as he tried to find his voice, "Y-Yes… Y-Yes, sir."

"And?" an exasperated James demanded.

"I-It's R-Reaper-One… The call sign they gave was Reaper-One," they replied.

 **oOoOo**

Faith tried not to move too much as the Alpha screamed through the valley at high speed. She still couldn't believe it when Paul opened the barn door and sitting there, looking shiny and pristine, was a fighter plane. Her eyes caught her name emblazoned on the nose of the Veritech's fuselage and she immediately knew this was Paul's fighter. She wanted to ask how, but Paul was hurrying through system checks to prep the plane for a quick launch.

"She's got enough juice left in her for one last flight… it'll be snug," he said with a smirk as he powered up flight systems.

"You know I like snug," Faith replied as she recovered, returning her own smirk.

He told her to grab her helmet as he continued rushing to get the fighter ready. As Faith rushed back to the barn, the sound of the fighter's engines, their power growing, was like a beacon of hope. Paul was in the cockpit, getting the fighter ready for take-off, he waved to Faith, having her climb up the fighter. Her face took on a hesitant expression when she saw how cramped the cockpit would be with the two of them.

"Get in!" he shouted over the roar of the engines, trying to shake her out of her hesitation.

Faith gave him a skeptical look, "You sure about this?"

Paul smirked, "It's not like we're flying a combat mission, besides what choice do we have?"

Faith shook her head, "Make room, big guy," she said as she climbed into the cockpit and squirmed into Paul's lap. He helped adjust her position, so he could still reach the controls. Then he rigged the safety harness to hold them in place, but with them both squeezed in the cockpit there wouldn't be a lot of room for moving around.

 _This is going to be all-pure fighter mode… We're going to need speed and altitude_ , he thought as he lowered the canopy. He pushed the throttle forward, causing the Alpha to lurch forward out of the building into the open field.

"You ready for this?" he asked.

He felt her hand touch his and give him a reassuring squeeze, "With you… always."

Paul pushed the throttle forward, causing the Alpha's two Pratt & Whitney turbines to whine louder as the Protoculture power-plant fed them energy. He didn't have much room for a rolling take-off, but then he couldn't access the VTOL controls the way Faith was sitting in his lap.

 _It'll be fine_ , he thought to himself as the fighter drew more power and quickly increased speed.

From Faith's point of view, things didn't look fine… they were quickly running out room before they would hit the edge of the forest then the mountain. She wasn't a pilot, but she didn't think they had enough room to clear everything. The increasing force of gravity pushed her into Paul as the fighter gained more speed. She wanted to turn to see Paul, for reassurance, but she didn't want to move too much and distract him.

As the trees and mountain drew closer, Faith cringed in anticipation, but just like that they were airborne, clearing the trees and mountain. She let out a deep sigh of relief, but was surprised to see they weren't climbing, trying to gain more altitude.

"Why aren't we climbing?" she asked confused over why Paul wanted to fly between the mountains.

"Because of that," Paul replied, pointing off to one side.

Faith twisted carefully to get a look. Her mouth hung open as she saw huge pillars of energy coalescing into a huge tornado-like column of energy. The column of green-pulsating energy was moving across the planet, seeming to consume everything in its path.

"My god," Faith muttered, not believing what she was seeing.

"This fighter can't make it into space on its own. We have to use the mountains as cover until the Arcadia enters the planet's atmosphere. We're going to do another 'Sunnydale Special'."

He felt Faith tense as she grasped what they were going to do. He tried not to laugh at her reaction as he opened a comm channel to the Arcadia to explain what he would need them to do…

 **oOoOo**

If it had been anyone else asking this, James would have called them crazy, but he heard Paul's plan and didn't waste any time. He turned to Aaron, "Captain, she's your ship… you have the conn."

Aaron nodded as he took the Captain's command station the Admiral vacated. He took a moment to study his bridge crew, his eyes paused on Dawn. She rewarded him with a smile. There was no hesitation as he gave orders, "Okay everyone, we're going to be doing a planetary atmospheric re-entry. It's going to get bumpy, so make sure all sections are secured and damage control teams are ready. Engineering, keep an eye on our shields and hull temperature. I also want our fold engines on standby… I want to jump as soon as they're aboard. Questions?"

The bridge crew shook their heads as they understood what was being asked of them. They'd already come this far, and they weren't going to leave now. Aaron experienced a surge of pride seeing his crew take on what was being asked of them without a word of complaint, "Okay people, let's get to it!"

He turned towards Rachel, "Chief… We're a little shorthanded in flight crew. I thought you could…"

Rachel gave Aaron a big grin, "It will be my pleasure, Captain! Tell him to use Hanger Bay Two," she said. She gave Giles a quick hug and kiss on the cheek, leaving Giles and Buffy to watch over Alex as she hurried off the bridge to the hanger deck.

"Okay, now the fun part begins," Aaron muttered as the Arcadia entered the planet's atmosphere.

 **oOoOo**

Faith was unsure of Paul's plan, but she also realized they didn't have any options. The idea of bringing a huge starship — with their son aboard — down into the planet's upper atmosphere, and they would fly up to land on it seemed… crazy.

"How do we know when to go?" Faith asked trying to distract herself as the fighter weaved through the valley at high speed.

"A ship that big entering the atmosphere, will light up our scanners like a flare, she'll give off a huge RADAR signal. As soon as the Arcadia begins her descent, I hit the afterburners… then home sweet home," Paul replied, keeping his focus on flying the Alpha.

"You make it sound so easy."

Paul smirked, "Well, there will be the pucker factor… we still have to avoid all that," his smirk faded as he nodded towards the raging cyclonic storm of energy. Faith stared in awe as the green pulsing energy pillars that were growing in intensity.

"I-I can hear them… I can hear all their voices," she muttered.

Paul eyed her in surprise, "Yeah… I do too," he whispered. He shook off the hypnotic trance and lure of the Invid voices going through their transformation, focusing his thoughts on Faith, his son and getting home. The beeping from his sensor console caught his attention, "I've got the Arcadia in range… You ready?" he asked.

Faith gently squeezed his hand, "Yeah… let's go home," she replied.

A roguish smile flashed across Paul's face, "Okay, home it is… now the fun part begins," he said, hitting the fighter's afterburners. He pulled back on the stick, putting the Alpha into a vertical climb…

 **oOoOo**

"Hull temperature increasing… Shields holding!"

Aaron nodded, "Fold system?"

"Fully charged and on standby, sir! We can jump any time," came the response.

"Any sign of them?" Aaron asked Dawn, who was standing by the main sensor station.

"No, nothing—Wait! I've got them! They're on an intercept course… less than five minutes before we meet up!" Dawn replied.

"What about those energy discharges?" Aaron asked. Like everyone on the bridge, he was stunned by the images of what was happening on the planet's surface.

"Those energy discharges aren't up to our altitude yet, but they're climbing and gaining in strength! Faith and Paul will still have to fly through them to reach us," Dawn replied, trying to keep her voice sounding professional and focused.

 **oOoOo**

Faith's previous experiences flying paled to what she was now going through. The Alpha twisted and turned, trying to avoid the growing pillars of green pulsing energy. The roar of its engines fought to compete with the sounds emanating from the pillars of energy. Faith's stomach was in her throat as the G-Forces pushed her down into Paul as the fighter climbed higher.

She didn't know how Paul could fly with her being pushed into him. Yet, he was making quick turns avoiding tendrils of energy shooting out of the pillars as the fighter clawed for more altitude. She was about to ask how much longer when she picked up a huge object in the sky ahead of them.

It took a moment for her to realize it was the Arcadia hanging there ahead of them, like a beacon. Just as escape and home seemed at their fingertips the pillars began to close together, their tendrils threatening to join, cutting off their escape route.

"NO!" Faith screamed in frustration at hope being snatched from their grasp.

"I said, it ain't over yet…" Paul grunted as he pulled back on his control stick and spun the fighter inverted. He slammed the throttle to max, the engines straining as they surged with Protoculture energy. Faith was in awe as he somehow found a path through the storm of energy, breaking past into the clear.

Faith let out a rebel yell as the hanger bay of the Arcadia beckoned…

 **oOoOo**

Rachel had suited up for flight deck operations, she'd corralled enough crew to help her get the hanger bay ready. She'd been keeping tabs on the fighter's progress, so she wasn't caught off-guard as Aaron's voice came over the comm system.

 _"Head's up, Chief! They're coming in hot!"_

She wasn't surprised to hear this as she shouted out to the crew to get the crash barriers in place and the fire crews standing by. Her eyes went to the now open hanger bay door as all her hopes and fears focused on the opening.

 _Come on Paul! You got this… this is a piece of cake for you!_ she thought, adding a silent prayer.

It didn't take long before she caught sight of the Alpha barreling in towards the open hanger bay, "Too fast," she muttered.

 **oOoOo**

"Uh, shouldn't we slow down?" Faith asked worriedly as they closed rapidly with the open hanger bay door.

"No time… When I tell you, slide the lever with the 'G' on it!" Paul said as he lined up his approach.

Faith was about to ask him a question, but they hit the edge of the open hanger bay.

"NOW!" Paul shouted. Faith didn't hesitate as she slid the lever.

Rachel shook her head in disbelief as she watched the Alpha switch into Guardian mode, looking like a huge bird of prey as its legs shot out front. The thrusters in the legs roared, slowing down the plane's forward momentum, as it hit the crash barriers. In a matter of seconds, the reverse thrusters and crash barriers brought the Alpha to rest in the hanger bay.

Rachel called the bridge, "We got them! They're aboard!"

Aaron didn't waste any time as the climbing columns of energy were now reaching upwards for the Arcadia, "FOLD NOW!" he ordered.

In seconds a fold field formed and shimmered around the Arcadia… then she was gone.

 **oOoOo**

On the edge of the Tzuptum system, a small group of Mollusk-class Carriers gathered to witness this moment. Onboard were the Invid chosen to remain behind as the rest of their species transformed, evolved and moved on to a higher plane of existence.

On the bridge of one carrier, Tashe watched over the display screens as her brothers and sisters, on their homeworld, lost their physical form. She saw as they became part of a huge raging storm of green pulsating energy, moving across the planet consuming all the Flowers of Life and every essence of Protoculture.

Tashe could hear all their voices… a mix of wonderment and joy as all the surging energy pillars coalesced into one. The Invid's eyes glistened as the surging storm of energy seemed to pause. Suddenly, the energy erupted outwards in huge column of pure blinding energy from the planet. Tashe watched in wonderment as the energy column climbed higher and higher into space. Her heart filled with joy hearing the voices of her species as it transformed into a huge bird… a phoenix of pure energy.

As the phoenix moved further into space, Tashe felt the Regess touch her mind one last time. In that moment, she knew everything that the Regess had seen and done. She now understood all the reasons and everyone's part in this great work… even hers.

Tashe understood the irony of her own journey from her universe to this one… the endless war along with the pain suffered by all the races. The Regess showed her how she would now rise to become the new Regess. She and the others — along with the generations to come — would continue on at this mortal level until it was her time to lead "her people" to the next level. She would be the mother and custodian of the Invid and The Flower of Life. The seedlings carried inside the carriers would reseed Optera and continue the cycle. Tashe now understood that the cycle never ends. She saw how the transformed Invid would now join those other beings at the higher planes of existence. There the Invid would join those powers holding back the powers of darkness that threatened to extinguish life.

The Shapings unveiled the path ahead for Tashe. She saw there would be many struggles and difficulties, but she also knew the Invid would survive and flourish… in its many forms.

 **oOoOo**

Paul tried to keep from pacing as he waited nervously in the lounge. Aaron and James were kind enough to give him and Faith the use of this lounge for this private reunion. As he waited, the more conscious he became of his appearance. He wished he'd had time to clean-up or at least shave, but Faith wasn't going to be deterred… not after this long.

After everything he'd gone through and experienced he was finding this one of the hardest things he'd ever faced. How does one act or say when they meet their son for the first time?

Just when he thought he couldn't take any more the lounge door opened, Faith came in holding the hand of a small boy. Paul sucked in his breath as he laid eyes on his son. His eyes locked on them as Faith knelt beside the shy-looking boy and whispered to him. Paul's eyes blurred as he saw the young boy nod and walk to him somewhat hesitantly.

Time lost all meaning as the boy made his way slowly to him. Paul's heart was pounding as the boy stopped in front of him and shyly made eye contact with him. Paul knelt down to see the boy easier and not be as intimidating, "H-Hello," he said, "My name is Paul."

The boy said nothing, but did look him in the eyes, "I hear your name is Alex. That's a good name. Your gran—m-my father's name was Alex," Paul said nervously.

The boy still said nothing, but continued to stare at him. Paul glanced towards Faith for help, but then the boy held his arms out catching him by surprise. A confused Paul glanced again towards Faith. She gave him a smile, and it sunk in. There was no more hesitation as he reached and took his son in his arms and wrapped them around him. Paul felt his son's small arms wrap around and squeeze him.

 _I'm home… I'm finally home_ , he thought as he hugged his son tighter.


	30. What the future may bring

**CHAPTER THIRTY:  
What the future may bring**

" _…We finally received confirmation today that the Arcadia Task Force was destroyed in action against the Invid. I waited awhile before telling Mirya. There were so many with those ships that we knew, and now they're gone. I find myself reflecting on all those we've lost over the years… Roy Fokker, Admiral Gloval, Claudia Grant, Ben Dixon… the list is way too long. Now, Paul Colerio has been added to that long list. It seems like only yesterday I saw him as a young boy with Alex and Cathy… then finding that wild-eye emaciated teen running wild on the streets of Brasilia. That kid was such a pain in the ass for me. I worried he would never graduate from the academy let alone become a squadron leader. Despite all the pain and troubles Paul went through, I know Alex and Cathy would have been proud of their son. While our war with the Invid continues and operations to retake Earth are ramping up, I just hope that Paul has found peace now…"_

— From the journals of Captain Max Sterling (Tirol 2042)

 **oOoOo**

 _"You behaved yourself around Xander and Cassie? You know your Father and I are looking forward to having you and Cassandra out for a visit… You two are such a pretty couple."_

Alex tried — and failed — not to roll his eyes, looking at the image of his mother on the video screen, "Mom, stop it!" he said shaking his head slowly. The smile on his face betrayed the fake annoyance he tried to put up.

 _"I'm just saying… You realize that I may want to have grandkids one day,"_ Faith said trying not to laugh.

Alex felt a slight tightening in his chest at the notion of starting a family. He quickly shook off the panic at seeing his mother detecting his discomfort as her smile got bigger.

"Grandkids, mom? You still have a house full with Anna and the twins!"

 _"Well, Anna will be heading off to university and then the academy. Rachel and Max, well they've only got a couple of years left in secondary school and then they're gone too. That will just leave your father and me in this big, empty house. I'm just trying to plan for the future."_

Again the idea of family and children caused his chest to tighten. He and Cassandra had talked about their future together as they each had their careers. Kids weren't at the top of each of their lists… at least not _his_ list. He quickly changed the subject, "How's dad?" he asked.

Faith smiled, immediately picking up on her eldest son's deft maneuver to not talk about his love life, _"You know your father. Between advising the Navy and instructing at the academy, he's keeping busy. He told me to tell you he has booked time in the simulators when you're here on Tirol. He mentioned something about wanting a rematch because you cheated last time."_

"Moi? I never cheat," Alex said feigning being insulted, "Dad hasn't been able to beat me in air combat simulators since I was seventeen," he said with a huge smile.

 _"How's Earth? How's everyone else?"_

"This old blue-and-white world is holding together. There's a lot excitement over the new mission. Other than that everyone says hi… Aunt Buffy says to remind you that her, James and the rest of their brood will be coming out to visit next month."

 _"Thanks… It's too bad that Aaron's task force won't be in system. It would've been nice to have had a whole group reunion."_

"How are Aunt Rachel and Uncle Giles doing?"

 _"They're doing well. They're looking forward to seeing you and Cassandra too. I think Aunt Rachel also mentioned something about you, Cassandra, and kids,"_ Faith said smirking.

"Yeah mom," he said, rolling his eyes again.

There was a long pause as Faith's face took on a more motherly worried look, _"Five years is going to be a long time. Your father doesn't say anything out loud, but he's worried about this mission… going to the other side of the galaxy."_

"Mom, it will be fine. This is an exploratory mission… you know check out the parts we've never been to. See if anyone is there and introduce ourselves."

 _"You don't have to sell your mom, I watch the newscasts. It's… It's just I've heard your father talking to Alliance Command. He's pushing for a larger fighter contingent and more support ships to go out with you. You guys will to be a long way from home, all by yourselves."_

Alex tried to hide any concern and worry on his part from his mom. He'd had the same discussions with his dad about the size of the military support going on this deep space exploratory mission to the other side of the galaxy.

"It'll be okay, mom," he said.

 **oOoOo**

Alex was leaning back relaxing as Cassandra entered their cabin, "So did you tell your parents the big news?" she said as she sat down on the bed next to him.

Alex gave her a roguish smirk as she snuggled up beside him, "No way, I promised you I would wait to tell them about the engagement until we visited. If there are any leaks in this 'operation' it would be on your end," he laughed.

Cassandra gave him a nice long passionate kiss, "Do you think they'll be surprised?" she asked as she finally broke away.

"It's not easy keeping secrets from mom and dad… especially dad, but I think I've managed to keep them in the dark for this one," he said, smiling.

"We make quite the pair don't we?" Cassandra said, giving him a loving look.

Alex laughed, "We sure do… me the fighter pilot and you the science officer."

"You looking forward to the mission?" Cassandra asked softly.

"Yup… especially with you. I like the idea of a long cruise," Alex said, hugging Cassandra tightly.

"It'll be a different type of honeymoon, won't it?" she added.

"It doesn't matter where we are. As long as I'm with you that'll always be home."

"You sure know how to charm a girl," Cassandra laughed.

"Only you… only you," Alex laughed.

 **oOoOo**

Alex stood by the viewport staring out into deep space, noting the distant stars. He glanced occasionally back at Cassandra asleep in their bed, giving thanks to how lucky he'd been to find her.

His thoughts drifted as he watched the distant stars thinking of everything that had brought him to this point and he realized that it was more than mere circumstances. He understood that bigger powers were at play, and for everything — and everyone — there was a plan and purpose.

Some would have argued this, going on about free will and self-determination. He didn't waste time with those arguments because he perceived what was true. He couldn't explain it, but he felt it instinctively.

Alex sighed, snorting at the thought of how much of a deep thinker he'd become at his age.

 _Whatever happens… we'll face it and deal with it. Everything worked out for mom and dad…_

As tiredness pulled at him, Alex decided he'd had enough deep thinking for tonight as he headed back to bed, and Cassandra. Sleep quickly took him. His dreams took him to places and showed him many things… all the while a woman gently sung to him.


End file.
